Shintoism in the Draconis Combine

[Jewelfox]

... the content of religion in every era must reflect the ideological requirements of the state that rules in that era and the leading class that controls that state.

—Analects and Commentaries of the Fifth Era; Sacred Works (O5P), 2817

I haven't gotten my copy of the House Kurita Handbook in the mail as of yet, so maybe someone can help me with planning a character. See, I know Shinto is listed as one of the Combine's major religions, but I'm not completely sure what that entails despite knowing a bit about it IRL. And I have a particular idea in mind that I want to work into the fluff somehow.

The Way of the Gods

That, loosely, is what the word "Shinto" means. The thing is, the gods, or kami as they're called in Japan, can be pretty much anything that anyone considers worthy of veneration, including your ancestors. Which, the whole ancestor-worship thing was copy-and-pasted from Buddhism, IIRC, along with a ton of other stuff like which numbers and colours are considered unlucky.

At any rate, and this is really oversimplifying things, in present-day real-life Japan actual Shinto shrines are largely devoted to one of two things. Traditional gods, like Inari Ōkami and Amaterasu, which are usually associated with aspects of nature ... and human personages and ancestors, who are usually warrior types.

Obviously, the Draconis Combine would favour one of these over the other.

The Way of the Warrior

So yeah, we've got our future space settlers who went all Analogue: A Hate Story on us and deliberately regressed to the worst parts of feudal and Imperial Japanese history. But this focus on duty (to the state) and honour (as defined by the state), over little things like millions of people not spending their miserable lives in serfdom, is not without its upside! Like cool samurai MechWarriors, who pilot their ancient mounts and charge into battle and die needlessly and then get their ashes enshrined at a jinja just for war criminals.

(I get that there's more to Draconis society than this and I'm dying to read more about it, but I'm oversimplifying again in order to emphasize the inherent oppressiveness of feudalism. And war.)

My question, for those who are more well-versed in the lore than I am or who just want to play with worldbuilding, is: Where are the shrines that aren't devoted to warrior ancestors and the Coordinator? No, scratch that; we already know the Azami and Nova Cat ethnic minorities are allowed to practice their religions. So it's more like, what would be the most plausible way to introduce a shrine like the IRL Fushimi Inari Taisha, which is well-regarded and historically significant but stands almost completely apart from the reactionary flag-waving? And enshrines a nature god(dess) associated with foxes and rice, instead of (or at least in addition to) the Coordinator.

(Keeping in mind that Inari is also associated with fertility, wealth, agriculture and industry, swordsmiths, merchants, and sex workers. So (s)he could fit in darned near anywhere.)

All I can find on Sarna are mentions of the Islamic Azami, Rasalhaguian Christianity, and other basic stuff. So like, does the Handbook mention worship of traditional gods at all? Any aspect of Shinto religion in the Combine that isn't completely subsumed into servicing the Coordinator's … ego? Because my idea right now is that such a shrine could exist, but if it doesn't have major backing of some kind (like from the Jade Pillar IIRC, like how some modern Japanese megacorps have Inari shrines inside them) then it's basically going to have to have been grandmothered in, so to speak, and only tolerated because of how ancient it is.

And maybe because of how ancient its sacred BattleMechs are.

That's a wrap

Any comments? Suggestions? Indignant fellow Kurita fans? Sorry in advance for all the stuff I got wrong, BTW. ^^;

[Maelwys]

Religion in the DC is..complicated. With the sort of hodge-podge of religious and Japanese themes taken by the Coordinator, its like walking through mine field at times. And despite a page on "Religion" in the book, you're probably going to be looking for the "Belief systems of the Five Classes" that's later on. That's right. Each class basically has their own religious/philosophical hook. Shintoism seems to be reserved for the Worker Class, though the Kuritan nobility is " charged with responsibility for maintaining an apparatus of Shinto priests, temples and ceremonies."

Of course, under the Worker's section under the Belief of the Five Classes, it states "workers are encouraged to keep small shrines in their homes and workplaces. Their mind are continually occupied with giving these spirits the necessary attention without the need for any unproductive time away from the job."

So...the nobility is charged with maintaining the shrines and priests and what not, but at the same time, the Class that actually engages in Shintoism doesn't really have time for elaborate temples and ceremonies, and maintain small shrines in their homes and workplaces.

So I'm going to guess there are elaborate Shinto shrines out there..that are probably empty 99% of the time, except for Shinto priests, that are maintained by nobility in order to promote the idea of Shintoism for the Worker class, but the majority of interaction with Shintoism is the home and work shrines, and with Priests visiting home and work to promote the religion. After all, who has time to go to the shrine when you're working 16 hours a day?

[Jewelfox]

Heh. ^^

That's kind of strange to me. I was assuming that Coordinator-worship was done under the auspices of state Shinto, the way that the cult of the Emperor worked in Imperial Japan. It doesn't seem like the nobles would really care otherwise.

(I also find it hard to imagine something resembling Shinto, inside of the Draconis Combine, where the Coordinator isn't seen as a kami, complete with a mythic ancestry.)

The personal shrines you described are called kamidana, "god-shelves," or butsudan for the Buddhist equivalent. They're actually pretty low-maintenance, since about all you have to do is refill the dishes of salt and rice every so often when you say a personal prayer, and there's no one around but the kami to tell you that you did it wrong or not often enough. So the workers being "continually occupied" with them confuses me. Maybe it's trying to say they're all "we have a shrine at the workplace, you don't need to spend festival days with your family!" or something, which sorta reminds me of 80's depictions of salarymen and their places of work I guess. ^^;

I'm not entirely clear on how often people visit shrines in modern Japan, but the idea of keeping these places empty but preserved and pristine and ready for nobles' visits sounds like how they might work in a hyper-stratified society. They'd probably still get lots of visits for traditional festivals like New Year's Day, though, if they aren't in remote locations. Which, if it's anything like IRL that is probably "the idea of Shintoism" that most people would have; you ask the priests to perform weddings, visit the shrines on holidays, and buy a good luck charm before the test.

I'm not sure what the handbook means by it, especially if it's not the same thing as the state religion (where everyone worships the state and its heroes and figureheads).

I guess I have to do more research. Thanks for the input ~

[Jewelfox]

In hindsight, maybe workers do largely worship the Coordinator and warrior ancestors in the state Shinto religion, and the other four classes just do so in different ways or with different ceremonies. ^^; Sorry, I'm making assumptions here.

[malk2651]

Heh. ^^

That's kind of strange to me. I was assuming that Coordinator-worship was done under the auspices of state Shinto, the way that the cult of the Emperor worked in Imperial Japan. It doesn't seem like the nobles would really care otherwise.

(I also find it hard to imagine something resembling Shinto, inside of the Draconis Combine, where the Coordinator isn't seen as a kami, complete with a mythic ancestry.)

The personal shrines you described are called kamidana, "god-shelves," or butsudan for the Buddhist equivalent. They're actually pretty low-maintenance, since about all you have to do is refill the dishes of salt and rice every so often when you say a personal prayer, and there's no one around but the kami to tell you that you did it wrong or not often enough. So the workers being "continually occupied" with them confuses me. Maybe it's trying to say they're all "we have a shrine at the workplace, you don't need to spend festival days with your family!" or something, which sorta reminds me of 80's depictions of salarymen and their places of work I guess. ^^;

I'm not entirely clear on how often people visit shrines in modern Japan, but the idea of keeping these places empty but preserved and pristine and ready for nobles' visits sounds like how they might work in a hyper-stratified society. They'd probably still get lots of visits for traditional festivals like New Year's Day, though, if they aren't in remote locations. Which, if it's anything like IRL that is probably "the idea of Shintoism" that most people would have; you ask the priests to perform weddings, visit the shrines on holidays, and buy a good luck charm before the test.

I'm not sure what the handbook means by it, especially if it's not the same thing as the state religion (where everyone worships the state and its heroes and figureheads).

I guess I have to do more research. Thanks for the input ~

It's been mentioned in other threads that they intentionally didn't copy things like how they would be in contemporary times.  RL examples wouldn't be followed implicitly. 

My recommendation would be to take what parts interest you and use those, and not bother worrying about realism or matching examples from RL.

[Maelwys]

Heh. ^^

That's kind of strange to me. I was assuming that Coordinator-worship was done under the auspices of state Shinto, the way that the cult of the Emperor worked in Imperial Japan. It doesn't seem like the nobles would really care otherwise.

(I also find it hard to imagine something resembling Shinto, inside of the Draconis Combine, where the Coordinator isn't seen as a kami, complete with a mythic ancestry.)

Ah, that's because, perhaps oddly, Confucianism is one of the main driving forces behind the Kuritan society's loyalty to the Coordinator, which is more of a philosophical binding, rather than strictly a religious one. And the nobles don't care about Shintoism, they're just charged with upkeeping the Priesthood and Shrines and ceremonies, and infact are actively discouraged from believing in the superstitions of Shintoism, because that's the designed belief system for the lower class. They're basically supporting the Priesthood so the Priesthood can indoctrinate the lower classes properly, not  because they're Shintoists themselves. They are however, bound to the Coordinator due to the Confucian chains of obligation. I did use the term minefield earlier, right? :)

The personal shrines you described are called kamidana, "god-shelves," or butsudan for the Buddhist equivalent. They're actually pretty low-maintenance, since about all you have to do is refill the dishes of salt and rice every so often when you say a personal prayer, and there's no one around but the kami to tell you that you did it wrong or not often enough. So the workers being "continually occupied" with them confuses me. Maybe it's trying to say they're all "we have a shrine at the workplace, you don't need to spend festival days with your family!" or something, which sorta reminds me of 80's depictions of salarymen and their places of work I guess. ^^;

That's basically it. They're observing the proper Shinto religion at home and work, so they don't need to go to the larger shrines and waste time when they're supposed to be working.

I'm not entirely clear on how often people visit shrines in modern Japan, but the idea of keeping these places empty but preserved and pristine and ready for nobles' visits sounds like how they might work in a hyper-stratified society. They'd probably still get lots of visits for traditional festivals like New Year's Day, though, if they aren't in remote locations. Which, if it's anything like IRL that is probably "the idea of Shintoism" that most people would have; you ask the priests to perform weddings, visit the shrines on holidays, and buy a good luck charm before the test.

I'm not sure what the handbook means by it, especially if it's not the same thing as the state religion (where everyone worships the state and its heroes and figureheads).

I guess I have to do more research. Thanks for the input ~

Its a really complex thing, because it weaves philosophy and religion and kind of hits you with both at the same time, and can mean different things depending on which segment of society you're looking at. And I'm hoping I'm interpreting all of it right, I'm certainly not an expert on things.

[Mohammed As`Zaman Bey]

Any comments? Suggestions? Indignant fellow Kurita fans? Sorry in advance for all the stuff I got wrong, BTW. ^^;

  Unfortunately, religion in the BT universe, especially in the Combine, looks more like a hodgepodge of info gleaned out of Wikipedia and serves more as factional window-dressing. Religion in feudal Japan was a mix of Buddhism, Confucianism and the native Shinto.

  One of my friends was raised on a Shinto temple in Kyoto, which has been under the care of his family for centuries. For the most part, Shinto temples serve an apolitical function -They are strictly spiritual and while nobles come to the temples for support, their main function is prayer. If you take a map of Tokyo, you will note that the various temples form a ring around the old capital -These holy sites served to ward evil away from the palace of the rulers. In order to gain benefits of the prayers, Japanese nobles would give various forms of donations to these temples, where, over the centuries, these temple would have vast warehouses filled with gold, suits of armor, swords, etc., that were meant to appease a vast pantheon of gods, demigods and spirits.

  A Shinto on Luthien, would serve as a temporary home to a specific god or spirit from an identical shrine in Japan. Ideally, Luthien or any other significant location, would be similarly ringed by holy shrines and temples.
 
  Every shrine would have a celebration day, where the local population would carry a small shrine through the towns or villages:



  To be continued...

[SCC]

Someone in another thread once commented that the Combine is a giant self-insert anime fanfic, and he's probably right. The Combine isn't Japanese because most of it's people are, they aren't. It's Japanese because a bunch of weebo's got control of the state at one point and the rest is history.

[Sir Chaos]

A Shinto on Luthien, would serve as a temporary home to a specific god or spirit from an identical shrine in Japan. Ideally, Luthien or any other significant location, would be similarly ringed by holy shrines and temples.

Perhaps there is a ring of satellites in equatorial orbit around Luthien bearing Shinto shrines?

[Mohammed As`Zaman Bey]

Perhaps there is a ring of satellites in equatorial orbit around Luthien bearing Shinto shrines?

  Shrines aren't holy minefields, they are places of prayer and worship. The patron god/spirit is given offerings and prayers for protection. I could see shrines on orbital stations, even on dropships, jumpships, and warships, as Imperial Japanese warships always had small shrines on board for the crews to pray.

  By coincidence, my current character, a DCMS officer, has been assigned to command a mercenary unit tasked with defending a Shinto shrine on the Clan front.

[Nodachi]

My running opinion with Combine religion is that any religion that accepted Kuritazation was acceptable. If it refused, then there were problems. The Azami are one of the few that don't follow that, but the greater Combine culture did have an influence on it still. And yes, the DC is like a huge stellar realm of walking anime fans. Pity the TH couldn't capitalize on that.