A Detailed Review Of The Education System In Japan And Shinto Religions Teaching

A Detailed Review Of The Education System In Japan And Shinto Religion's Teaching Nowadays, some modern scholars considered that Shinto was not a really religion at all or that it did not exist as a separate religion until the creation of State Shinto in the Meiji period. However, in my opinion, Shinto already became a religion before Meiji period. In the Oxford dictionary, the term â€Å"religion† is defined as â€Å"the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or Gods† (Oxford Dictionary.com). Shinto in early Japan complied with this definition of religion to some extent. Why some scholars thought that Shinto was not a real religion in the early period is that Shinto was not completely the same as western religion. But there are some scholars who talked about this kind of debate that it is because the Japanese conception of religion is not the same as the occidental conception of religion. Woodard pointed at that the occidentals regard Christianity as what a religion should be. This conception could not und erstand Japanese religions because the nature of Japanese religion is different from Christianity. He thought that Shinto itself was different and so is Buddhism; if religion is to be defined solely in terms of the traditional occidental concepts, then neither Buddhism nor Shinto can be called religions (86). People cannot say that Shinto was not really a religion in early Japan, it just a religion which has some different characteristics from other popular religions. The reason why Shinto is different with other popular religions is that it’s based on Japan’s unique culture, polity and it’s centered on the imperial institution. Lots of scholars such as Hirai Naofusa considered that Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan, and has continued in an unsevered line from prehistorical times to the present (Breeen and Teeuwen 4). Another scholar, Joseph Kitagawa, has a similar consideration with Hirai. He gives subdivisions of Shinto which are â€Å"shrine Shinto†, â€Å"folk Shinto† and â€Å"sect Shinto†. Kitagawa thought that Shinto as the indigenous religion of Japan has â€Å"no founder, no official sacred scriptures, and no fixed system of ethics or doctrine, Shinto may be regarded as Japanese types of religious beliefs, sentiments, and approaches, which have been shaped and conditioned by the historical experience of the Japanese people from the prehistoric period to the present† (139). Another scholar Teeuwen defined Shinto as consisting of â€Å"polytheism, animism, shamanism, divination, syncretism and ancestor worship† (373). Shrine Shinto can be seen as the origin of the Shinto religion. During the Jomon and Yayoi periods, except hunting and fishing for common life, people also acquired the spiritual life because the earthquakes, typhoons, and other natural calamities were common occurrences. Japanese people want some protections from spiritual world. Meanwhile, various cultural and religious customs were brought from Asian continent to Japanese island during this period. Japanese people built shrines and worshiped kami to show respect and thankful for world. A shrine is the place for worshipping kami (meaning of gods in Japanese). Japanese people go to the shrine and do rituals so that they can show their worship to kami. The worship of kami by the Japanese occurred much earlier than the formal establish of Shinto. In other words, the worship of kami by Japanese people at the shrine has started from very early period, but the formal name of Shinto, which written in Chinese characters are ç ¥Å¾Ã© â€œwe re appeared until sixth century A.D (Kitagawa 139). For example, the most important shrine in Shinto is the Grand Shrine of Ise. Ise Shrine was established sometimes around 300 C.E., when the sun god Amaterasu was moved to this place (Yusa 25). According Hirai’s view of Shrine Shinto, he considered that Shrine Shinto had existed from the beginning of Japanese history (4). Kami is a significant term in Shinto, kami is the first character â€Å"ç ¥Å¾Ã¢â‚¬ . Shinto defined that there are 8,000,000 kami in this religion. Kami can refer to sprits of nature—mountains, rivers, trees, rocks, and oceans—all conceived to be alive and sacred. Andreeva considered that kami were worshipped as supernatural forces controlling natural elements, or as hereditary deities and ancestors of powerful clans. Kami in Shinto are largely invisible but physically resided in Japan (679). Japanese people believed that different kami have different meanings and can give them different dei ties. The Japanese practice religious rituals in the kami’s shrines. Some of the shrines were official and some of them were non-official, and some of the shrines were in the outer space and some of them were in the inner space. In Shinto, kami can be both good and evil powers. This is different to other popular religions, gods in Shinto are not necessarily good. Starting from the Nara period, another religion took important position in Japan, which is Buddhism. In this period, Shinto and Buddhism interacted. The understanding of Shinto was influenced by the introduction of Buddhism. During Nara period, Shinto kami deities were considered to protect the Buddhist doctrines (Yusa 60). In later period, Buddhist created the idea Honji Suijiaku to associate with kami in Shinto from Buddhist deities. And some views, faith and ritual from Buddhism begun to be a part of Shinto. In other word, by the influence of Buddhism’s organization and way of rituals, the Buddhism help Shinto to build an organized structure. Similar with other popular religion such as Hinduism in India, Confucianism and Daoism in China. Shinto also used by Japanese government ruler to ruled people before Meiji period. The Emperor Tenmu (673-686) ordered the compilation of the early Japanese which resulted in the Kojiki. In Kojiki, the imperial family considered that they are the descendants of Amaterasu. The Emperor started to offered imperial protection to some major shrines. Emperor and Empress were described as living kami so that they can ruled local people very well and made them to obey or worship imperial family. Because of Shinto’s important role in the folk area of Japan or Kitagawa’s term â€Å"folk Shinto†, imperial family’s attitude to Shinto not only helped them successfully ruled local people, but also consolidated imperial family’s position in Japanese history. This can be a reason why imperial family can exist such long period from early Japan till now. Influenced by the imperial family, Shinto’s religious situation in Japan changed a lot. Shinto priesthood appeared and developed fast (Kitagawa 151). Men were chosen for religious of becoming kami-possessed, and some female shamanic diviners to speak on behalf of the kami. As far as the imperial court was concerned, lot of Shintoist and Shinto priestly families appeared to the stage of Japanese history. These priests, for instance, Watarai Yukitada, a Shinto priest of the Outer Shrine of Ise. He described various facts of Shinto tradition and Shinto symbolism (Yusa 63). The term â€Å"sect Shinto† which Kitagawa mentioned became an important thing in the history of Shinto by a famous Shinto priest Yoshida Kanetomo who further developed Watarai’s line of work. He is the head priest of the Yoshida Shrine in Kyoto. Yoshida asserted Shinto was the root and trunk of all truth, and Shinto should be pure and primal which was devoid of the influenced of other religions s uch as Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism (Yusa 64). Move to the Edo period, the several lines of Shinto support were united and reinforced by a powerful movement called Restoration Shinto (Earhart 144). During the Edo period, Japan was isolated from foreign influence for about 2 centuries. This isolation both had positive and negative effects. Because of the exclusion of foreign influence, the national pride and national strength of Japan grew in this period. Shinto became a significant term in Japanese national pride. Japanese people began to consider Shinto was superior to all religions, and Shinto scholars have been great religious importance and have influenced the course of the nation and its cultural identity (Earhart 144). The Restoration Shinto later become the spiritual base of Meiji Restoration. In a conclusion, Shinto has already existed as a religion before the Meiji period. Differenced with other popular religions, Shinto didn’t have a clear and formal start or organized faith. But this kind of situation was caused by Japan’s environment and Japan’s unique culture. Shinto do have the contribution and influence similar as other popular religions do. Firstly, Shinto has the exact worship places which named shrines and gave the spiritual encouragement to local people; secondly, it not only influenced local people’s life but also the ruling class; thirdly, Shinto also has professional priests and sect. Even though Shinto was organized and become a pure faith in later period which is different from other religions that are built an official myth at the beginning, we still cannot say that Shinto was not really a religion before the Meiji period.

Skill Enhancement Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Skill Enhancement - Assignment Example In addition, we need PowerPoint because it eliminates most of the boredom found in presentations such as lectures, where the presenter just states information without creativity, which is monotonous. PowerPoint also creates room for creativity as it needs the information found in a presentation to be organized appropriately for clarity and order. Question 3 A hyperlink is a reference that appears as a link leading one to another piece of information or file that can be directly followed by opening the hyperlink. A hyperlink can be created by using the insert menu to insert a hyperlink, and it can also be created by using the auto format feature and the tools menu, where one clicks on autocorrect then clicks on auto format as you type. The next step is checking the box in the replace you type pane in internet and network paths and clicking okay. Question 4 A transition is an effect that allows two separate scenes to merge and appear to be continues, and examples of transitions include dissolve, fade, wipe, morph and cut. Question 5 Seven categories of search engines and examples include Crawler-based search engines- Google.com Human-powered directories- Yahoo.com Meta-search engines- Metacrawler.com Vertical- Business.com Sponsored- Kanoodle.com Hybrid- Yahoo.com Specialty Search Engines Question 6 The three arguments for moral justification of private property in favour of intellectual property include claims of ownership based on the owner of the work having worked for the property, which means that it is a product of the person. The second argument for intellectual property is that one must seek permission to use the intellectual property prior to using it, and intellectual property becomes property of the society through permission of its use. The third argument is that intellectual property belongs to its maker and must therefore not be reproduced as a new item and should therefore be permitted before its reproduction. Question 7 Plagiarism is the use of an other author’s work without the permission of the author, where the work includes ideas, language and even expressions where the person using the works without authorization presents the work as his or her own original work. There are different types of plagiarism including deliberate plagiarism where one copies the work of another author directly, word for word and passes it as his own such as an entire book with a changed title and author. Another type is paraphrasing where the author takes ideas and words from the original author, then inserts quotes and citations. Another form of plagiarism is patchwork and paraphrasing, where the author puts together ideas and expressions from different authors, and puts them together then passes them off as their own. The last one is self-plagiarism, where one copies his or her own work from a previous version of it and edits it to appear new. Question 8 A blog is a website in which information is frequently updated, and the information is presented in a reverse chronological order, and features opinions and information of interest to the person maintaining the blog. Blogging in education can be used to share experiences on academic progress for students. It can also be used to share assignments for those who did not attend classes, where those who miss classes can find their homework there. Blogging can also be used to enhance communication between the teacher and his or her students as it provides a platform that is

Blue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Blue - Essay Example Blue sky represents smooth communication flow and conveys reliability, self assurance and trustworthiness. Even loyalty and faith are two positive attributes of blue (Karlsen,2010).Blue gives a feeling of power and security as the sky above is projected in this shade. Moreover the water is visualized in blue color which is the main force of life. Thus the importance of blue is embedded in our life and our natural surroundings. The cloud which brings rain is also embodied in blue and it is the foundation for life on earth. Blue also convey a feeling of sadness or depression and this gave way to the origin of concept like Monday blues and Morning blues. Monday blues refer to the starting of office day where in one feel reluctant to attend office. Even it can be referred to the depressed feeling of person where in it is addressed as â€Å"one is feeling blue†. Blue also stands for cleanliness as it is used more often in cleaning products like toothpaste, mouthwash and soap. Blue also has a prominent place in the world of art as artist use it to express outwardly feeling. Blue is also a representation of confidence, trust and serenity. Many artists have taken help of blue to express the feeling of happiness and glory to their work. Blue has a constant relation in our life as the sky and ocean are of the same shade. It also has the property to release chemicals which can calm the body and give a soothing effect to it. Blue has a calming quality. If it is darker shade then it can be strong and steadfast and if lighter version it can be light and friendly. The shade of blue is preferred by almost everyone. The cool, calming effect of blue helps in passing time swiftly and it can help you sleep (Bear,2011) . Even in western culture blue is a symbolism for male gender whereas women are connected to pink Blue also have the quality of giving the feeling of trust, dependability and commitment The brilliant blue has the power of expressing exhilaration and can be gre atly dramatic and dynamic. This is the reason why it is used in most events and concerts to attract the attention of audience. Blue also has a status in political field as it represent as a background for the flags of many nations. In his article Smith writes that ,U.S. Democratic Party is represented by blue and beginning with the 2000 presidential election, states related to democratic candidates were referred as â€Å"blue states† and those interested in Republican candidates referred to as â€Å"red states† (Smith,2011). Blue also holds a prominent place in the military and defense arena as their dress code some way contain its usage. Blue also is used constantly in government emblems and flags of international organizations, as it is a universally accepted theme for peacefulness and trust. There are also numerous companies which are represented with blue theme like IBM, Intel, Pepsi and Ford. Even the high officials and executives prefer blue in their dress code a s it looks very professional and ethical to the senses. Moreover the most popular clothing which is â€Å"Jeans† only comes in blue shade. The popularity and craze which jeans and denim has cannot be acquired by any other clothing on the entire planet. It could be also said that only blue holds on to it

Brainstorming Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Brainstorming - Assignment Example It may improve collaboration and increase the quantity of ideas, and it is designed so that all attendees participate and no ideas are rejected. The process begins with a well-defined topic. Each participant brainstorms individually, then all the ideas are merged onto one large idea map. During this phase, participants discover a common understanding of the issues as they share the meanings behind their ideas. (Google video) Identifying the problem at hand in the first place is a very bright idea for the group. By doing this, the group has a varied set of ideas they can generate in order to come up with the solution. The way also the group sits in a relaxed manner and informal way thus allowing free flow of ideas. During this sharing, new ideas may arise by the association, and they are added to the map as well. Once all the ideas are captured, the group can prioritize and take action. This is the idea the team seems to take to tackle the problem at hand. This way, the group comes up with the solution easily. (Google video) Brainstorming is surely the best way to solve problems and come up with new ideas. This is demonstrated by the virtue that Google video. Google uses this method steering it to great heights. The group also portrays great teamwork and this is a great motivation to the entire

Microbial Content of cooked meat kebab Lab Report

Microbial Content of cooked meat kebab - Lab Report Example However, because the meat is cooked on one surface only, there is an increased opportunity for pathogen outgrowth and microorganism multiplication (Vazgecer, Ulu and Oztan, 2004). There have been reported cases of food contamination and foodborne disease occurrences circumstantially connected to kebab consumptions which can lead to more complex outcomes (Angelillo, I.F., Viggiani, N.M.A., Rizzo, L. and Bianco, A., 2000. Food handlers and foodborne diseases: knowledge, attitudes, and reported behavior in Italy. Journal of Food Protection 63 3, pp. 381–385. View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (35)Angelillo, Viggiani, Rizzo, and Bianco, 2000). Some human ailments may be caused by foodborne pathogens, such as Salmonella serotypes, Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, and Bacillus cereus (Swaminathan and Feng, 1994). The changing epidemiology of foodborne diseases and the resurfacing of some microorganisms and pathogens are attributable to various conditions, such as everyday habits and routines of consumers, food handling and preparation, food manufacture and distribution, and understanding of food risks (Lacey, 1993; Roberts, 2000; Slutsker, Altekruse, and Swerdlow, 1998). This experiment will determine levels of aerobic microorganisms and identify probable pathogens in two kebab meat samples of chicken and lamb. Moreover, it will verify probabilities on disease transmission and assess kebab’s quality and safety for human consumption. 10 grams of the chicken sample was placed in a sterile stomacher bag with 90ml of buffered peptone water; homogenized with a blender; incubated for 24 hours. 1 ml of chicken sample was then suspended into 9ml of SCB and incubated for another 24 hours at 37 Â °C. 10 grams of the lamb sample was placed in a sterile stomacher bag with 90ml of Ringer solution; homogenized with a blender; diluted with 20uL of sample and 180ul of

Personal experience at a community healthcare facility Essay

Personal experience at a community healthcare facility - Essay Example It is at St. Cecilia Nursing Home that I got to internalize the concept of Gibbs Model in a practical way and in accordance with the tenets of the NMC guidelines (NMC 2008). Thus, the following essay is a reflective chronology of my practical experience at St. Cecilia with respect to ethical issues of informed consent, confidentiality, professional conduct, and empathy as well as respect and dignity for patients (see Appendix 1). Reflective Practice When I joined St. Cecilia as a student and assigned to Ward X (fictitious for purposes of confidentiality), I thought I knew everything ranging from protocol adherence to professional conduct. It seemed to me that I could work on my own and deliver the best services to the elderly patients afflicted with dementia. I wanted to exude confidence in my nursing skills and for the first time my attitude was a little rigid. What I did not actually think of was the fact that I was outside an ordinary classroom and that my work at St. Cecilia requ ired a great deal of teamwork, patience and commitment as postulated by Miranda and Best (2005, p.51) and Suzie (2001, p.1209). With time, the interaction with my patient (let us call him Uncle Richard) helped me develop the right momentum for doing the right thing through reflective nursing practice in accordance with the Gibbs Model of reflective practice as disused hereafter. My assignment in Ward X was to feed an elderly patient herein referred to as Uncle Richard (fictitious name). The patient was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease dementia. Clinically, this dementia is characterized by declining memory and inability to make sound judgment or concentration (Cormac et al. 2004). This type of dementia resulting from the Parkinson’s disease also affects the cognition ability of patients resulting in delusion, depression, irritability, sleep disturbances and anxiety. While my patient could hardly interpret visual information, his condition was also accompanied by muff le speech. To make it worse, the patient had a hearing problem, his right arm amputated and he was a poor eater. It was important to explain some nursing issues to the patient almost daily and at times it forced me to pester the patient for several minutes before he could accept to eat. In terms of describing my feelings in of the experiences in Ward X, it would be prudent to uphold honesty as highlighted in the Gibbs Model (Gibbs 1988). Initially, it was difficult feeding the patient and staying with him was a little boring because of his memory problems, muffled speech and irritability. The patient was troublesome when it comes to eating, and occasionally I felt pissed off. At some point, empathic seeing that the patient could not even interpret a picture of his favourite dish. Once in a while, the routines made felt inadequate and out of place having to deal with a patient that seemed so difficult. Forcing my patient to eat was not a viable option especially that he still reserve d the ethical right of patient autonomy (Cormac et al 2004, p.108; Guido 2006). It was however imperative to exercise some patience and understanding so as to cope with his condition and anxieties as required by NMC 2008. Learning to communicate with my patient was a breakthrough as time passed. Somehow, we became friends and the daily encounters with the patient became a normal practice after all. In his light moods, he would tell me a few things he could remember including a bit of his family life. Of course the stories were juggled up and some did not even make much sense. In some way, a few of his narrations were emotional and quite informative. For instance, one afternoon I felt remorseful when Uncle Richard told me how his wife abandoned him with a ten-year-old daughter

Contemporary artists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Contemporary artists - Essay Example The essay "Contemporary artists" discusses the importance of displacement and the perceived lack or flux of geopolitical boundaries to contemporary artists. Conversely, it is important to appreciate the fact that although displacements, migrations and perceived lack or flux of geo-political boundaries have closely knit contemporary artists from many parts of the world into a global assemblage of persons with common interests, yet the same has led to the strengthening of national cultural heritage, vis-Ã  -vis, the strengthening of contemporary artistes in their given country. This happens as any country or geopolitical entity or body politic become aware of the fact that through globalization, multiculturalism is acting as a force that gnaws away at a people’s socio-cultural values and heritage. It is against this backdrop that states, countries, nation-states or other geopolitical entities have come to craft and ratify policies that are to consolidate or strengthen cultural and social heritage. Chiefly featuring among these policies is the creation of the aforementioned associations which are nevertheless nation or state-specific. The Contemporary Art Society of Victoria Inc. [commonly known as CAS] exists and functions as a non-profiting organization seeks to promote the interests of artists interested in contemporary art works exemplifies government attempts to consolidate contemporary artists within the confines of geopolitical boundaries. CAS is run by artists, for the benefits.