Shinto is frequently a theme in

Japanese popular culture Japanese popular culture includes Japanese cinema, cuisine, television programs, anime, manga, video games, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain older artistic and literary traditions; many of their themes and styles of presentation can be ...

, including film, manga,

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

, and video games.

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

religion is at the core of Japanese culture and history and as such greatly affects the outcome of pop culture in modern Japan. Some works in Japanese or international popular culture borrow significantly from Shinto myths, deities, and beliefs. Aside from the many games, movies, manga and other cultural products that mention the religion or the names of its deities, some anime, film, video games, or other works feature Shinto elements as central elements. Shinto itself features in popular culture as folk Shinto or ''Minkan Shinto''.

Anime and manga

Shinto motifs and themes such as ''

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

'' (gods or spirits) and '' yokai'' (ghosts or demons) are particularly present in

and manga. *In '' Dream Saga'', the Earth is destroyed and recreated whenever humans have polluted it. This is done when Susanoo, the Shinto god of the sea and storms, (the brother to Amaterasu) consumes Amaterasu, the sun goddess. The two main characters, Yuuki and Takaomi, are given key roles in the process.

Film

Some Japanese films feature themes from Shinto religion or characters based on ''kami''. This is especially the case in animated films, such as Hayao Miyazaki's ''

Princess Mononoke is a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Dentsu. The film stars the voices of Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida ...

'' or ''

Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film, and Mitsubishi and distrib ...

'', but can also be seen in other films. * ''

The Three Treasures is a 1959 Japanese film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. The film is based on the legends ''Kojiki'' and '' Nihon Shoki'' and the origins of ''Shinto''. The film was the highest-grossing film of 1959 for Toho and the second highest grossing domestic ...

'' (1959) features several gods, including Amaterasu, Izanagi and others as characters. *In the '' Stargate'' series, Amaterasu is a Goa'uld System Lord who comes to Earth with Lord Yu and Camulus to form a temporary truce between Earth and the Goa'uld. *In '' Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon'' Susanoo wishes to follow his mother,

Izanami , formally known as , is the creator deity A creator deity or creator god (often called the Creator) is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God ...

, to heaven when she dies, but his father, Izanagi, tells him he cannot.

Video games

Video games may relate to themes or characters from Shinto, as well as

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, and other religions. Such games may present a

heterodox In religion, heterodoxy (from Ancient Greek: , "other, another, different" + , "popular belief") means "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". Under this definition, heterodoxy is similar to unorthodoxy, w ...

or alternative take on religion, or even

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

traditional practice or belief. In addition to Shinto stories or ''kami'', themes such as the sacredness of nature or the place of magic in everyday life are also visible in such games. *In the 2006 video game '' Ōkami'', Amaterasu is depicted as a white wolf and she is the main protagonist of the game. As in the traditional Shinto, Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun, but in the game she controls many other powers as well by painting things. This depiction of Amaterasu is also a playable character in '' Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds'' and '' Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3''. *In 2016, Amaterasu,

Raijin , also known as , , , and Kamowakeikazuchi-no-kami is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions, standing atop a cloud, beatin ...

, Susano, Izanami, in 2017, Hachiman, and in 2020, Tsukuyomi, were included as playable characters in the

multiplayer online battle arena Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that ...

video game ''

Smite ''Smite'' is a 2014 free-to-play, third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna.Meitei language Meitei (), also known as Manipuri (, ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of north-eastern India. It is spoken by around 1.8 million people, predominantly in the state of Manipur, but also by smaller communities in the rest of the country and in p ...

play that interweaves the stories of the two legendary creatures, Yamata-no-Orochi slain by Susanoo for saving Kushinada of

(

Japanese folklore Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, customs, and material culture. In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The academic study o ...

) and Keibu Keioiba of Meitei folklore (

Manipuri folklore Meitei folklore is the folklore and mythology of the Meitei people of Manipur, India. Such folklore is traditionally passed from generation to generation. Currently, the government of Manipur is planning to preserve the folklore of the Meitei p ...

). In the play, the role of Yamata-no-Orochi was played by ''Maisnam Momocha'', the role of Susanoo by ''Romario Thoudam Paona'' and the role of Kushinada by ''Roslin Akoijam Chanu''.

Other works of popular culture

Shinto stories or ''kami'' also appear in other works of popular culture, including work set in Japan but produced outside of the country. *The Shinto deities Izanami and Izanagi (the latter incorrectly spelled as "Izaghi") appear in Puccini's opera '' Madama Butterfly''. *The Shinto deities Izanami and Izanagi (spelled "Izanaki") appear in Natsuo Kirino's ''The Goddess Chronicle''. *In the novel, ''

Giles Goat-Boy ''Giles Goat-Boy'' (1966) is the fourth novel by American writer John Barth. It is a metafictional comic novel in which the universe is portrayed as a university campus in an elaborate allegory of both the hero's journey and the Cold War. Its tit ...

'', author

John Barth John Simmons Barth (; born May 27, 1930) is an American writer who is best known for his postmodern and metafictional fiction. His most highly regarded and influential works were published in the 1960s, and include ''The Sot-Weed Factor'', a sa ...

makes reference to the people of Japan as the "Amaterasu," who were EATEN by WESCAC (a reference to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) during the "Second Campus Riot" (World War II). *Izanagi and Izanami appear as minor supporting characters in the ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures'' is a comic book series published from August 1988 to October 1995 by Archie Comics, based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It is mainly based on t ...

'' comic book series, aiding the Turtles and their allies in battle against a powerful demon whose emergence from a damaged nuclear reactor threatens the safety of all Japan. *Several kami, including Susano-o-no-mikoto,

, and Tsukuyomi, appear as supporting characters in the Vertigo Comics series ''

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

'' and its spinoff ''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

''.

References

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Anime and manga

Film

Video games

Other works of popular culture

See also

References