Shinto - The Ancient Religion of Japan

by William George Aston

The present treatise has two objects. It is intended, primarily and chiefly, as a repertory of the more significant facts of Shinto for the use of scientific students of religion. It also comprises an outline theory of the origin and earlier stages of the development of religion, prepared with special reference to the Shinto evidence. The subject is treated from a positive, not from a negative or agnostic standpoint, Religion being regarded as a normal function, not a disease, of humanity. This element of the work owes much to the continental scholars Réville, Goblet D'Alviella, and Pfleiderer.

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction

375 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 19, 2015

About the author

William George Aston was a British diplomat, author and scholar-expert in the language and history of Japan and Korea.

Reviews

[Karime Cury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiene datos muy interesantes y útiles al respecto de las antiguas leyendas de Japón. Desafortunadamente, el autor mete muchas opiniones personales, juicios de valor y críticas hacia esta cultura; siendo un texto científico, este detalle me hace mucho ruido. Por supuesto, entiendo que fue publicado en 1908, y que los estándares de escritura y estilos literarios y científicos, eran diferentes en esa época. Sin embargo, algunas de sus opiniones sí me parecieron un tanto groseras hacia la cultura que estaba analizando, de ahí que mi calificación fue bajando.

[Dora Amalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite liked this! Reading for an essay I'm going to be writing next month. Hopefully that one will get me into the Japanese course which it is kind of an audition for! Fingers crossed!
Anyway, I loved the way this was written and will check out the other work on shinto by the same author.

[Garry Marlton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not grip me like I was hoping but it was ok.

[Wayward Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read this for my Japanese culture class. Very interesting. If I had to choose a religion for myself and declare myself religious, gun to my head, I`d pick Shintoism. Sadly, I didn`t have a lot of time to read it, since it was for school, so I may have missed out on a meaning or two.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent little summary of Shintoism. Not much was known about Shinto from outside sources at the time, considering how long Japan had been open to the outside world. The writer really likes Lafcadio Hearn and references him throughout the book as a chief source.