In search of the origin of the Japanese culture, Motoori studied the classics, especially the Shinto writings called Kojiki.

Shinto “Holy Writ”

22, 23. (a) What two edicts were issued by the emperor? (b) Why were these edicts considered sacred?

²² While Shinto had its ancient records, rituals, and prayers in the Kojiki, the Nihongi, and the Yengishiki writings, State Shinto needed a sacred book. In 1882 Emperor Meiji issued the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors. Since it came down from the emperor, it was viewed by the Japanese as holy writ, and it became the basis for daily meditation for men in the armed forces. It emphasized that an individual’s duty to pay his debts and obligations to the god-emperor was above any that he might have to anyone else.

²³ A further addition to Shinto holy writ took place when the emperor issued the Imperial Rescript on Education on October 30, 1890. It “not only laid down fundamentals for school education but virtually became the holy scriptures of State Shinto,” explains Shigeyoshi Murakami, a researcher of State Shinto. The rescript made clear that the “historical” relationship between the mythical imperial ancestors and their subjects was the basis of education. How did the Japanese view these edicts?

24. (a) Give an example of how the imperial rescripts were viewed by the people. (b) How did State Shinto lead to emperor worship?

²⁴ “When I was a girl the vice principal [of the school] would hold a wooden box at eye level and reverentially bring it up to the stage,” recalls Asano Koshino. “The principal would receive the box and pull out the scroll on which the Imperial Rescript on Education was written. While the rescript was being read, we were to bow our heads low until we heard the concluding words, ‘The Name of His Majesty and His seal.’ We heard it so many times that we memorized the words.” Until 1945, and by means of an educational system based on mythology, the whole nation was conditioned to dedicate itself to the emperor. State Shinto was viewed as the superreligion, and the other 13 Shinto sects teaching different doctrines were relegated to being referred to as Sect Shinto.