Neo Confucianism Essay

Neo Confucianism came along during the “second epoch of confucianism” and was led by Zhu Xi. Zhu Xi was responsible for reinterpretations that brought relevancy back to the religion, along with the patronage of the Song Dynasty it was a recipe for success. This form of confucianism was influenced by Daoism and Buddhism but ironically rivaled both. Confucianism originally was more of a political plan but this neo confucianism also incorporated nature and the individual, making it more appealing. A main focus of neo-confucianism was the social harmony as well as familial harmony and state harmony.

Shintoism is a religion with no founder that is indigenous to Japan. Shintoism believe in purifying of the body as well as harmony with natural and stress rituals as well as ritual etiquette. Shintos worship kamis these kamis are deities that are associated with locations, animals as well as the emperor. Neo Shinto views were influenced by confucianism with the importance of the relationship to the emperor. The shinto text is called kojiki and praises values like purity and brilliance. Shinto beliefs were very prominent in Japan and even when other religions began to spread many japanese people still worshiped their local deities. …show more content…
Its origin comes from the Japanese religion of Shintoism. Amaterasu is the kami of the sun and has a direct connection to the myth of how the country was founded which deeply embedded Shintoism but specifically local deities known as kamis in japanese culture. There are many different kamis like, thunder, mountains, rivers but can also embody animals like cows and foxes. The presence of a kami could be shown with shimenawa which is a sacred rope that identifies a kami. Even though shintoism is not as pertinent as it used to be the idea of kamis is still practiced today. In lecture we learned that people still bring their newborn babies to meet the local