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Terms for subject Religion (3944 entries)

Miki, Tokuharu	The founder in 1931 of Hito no Michi (The Way of Man) a Buddhist-Shinto religious movement derived from the mountain sect Mitake-kyo and its associated movement Tokumitsu-kyo. Miki's teachings derived from his mystical experiences of the deity Amaterasu, whom he equated with the Buddhist divinity nyorai Members were taught to transfer their sufferings to the founder, seen as a From the 1930's Hito no Michi took on a "state Shinto" identity but was persecuted nevertheless, accused of worshipping the sun rather than the sun goddess. After the war the movement under the direction of Miki's son Tokuchika was revived with the American-sounding name of P.L.Kyodan (the religion of Perfect Liberty) which teaches a positive approach to creativity and 'living life as art', asserting that human beings are essentially divine. Tokuharu is venerated by the sect at his tomb under his posthumous kami-name of Amamizu-umihi-arawaru-hiko-no-mikoto
Miko	A term used for female shamans (also fujo) spirit-mediums or diviners, from ancient Japan to the present day. In modern times miko of this shamanic type (kuchiyose miko) operate largely outside the shrines as independent religious practitioners. Miko in a shrine context (jinja miko) now means an assistant priestess or "shrine-maiden" (see Shinshoku) often the unmarried daughter of a priest or parishioner. Her duties include taking care of visitors, helping the priest with ceremonies and performing miko-mai or dances. A moderately prosperous shrine may employ several part-time miko. Shrine miko are usually dressed in red and white blouse, or in pure white for special occasions. It seems that today's miko, even the kuchiyose type, only faintly resemble the powerful women shamans such as princess Himiko or Pimiko mentioned in ancient Chinese accounts of Japan who acted as oracular guides to the ruler and communicated with the kami on behalf of the community. The closest equivalents to these women are probably the powerful founders of new religions, such as Miki, Nakayama of TenrikyO, Nao, Deguchi of Omoto-kyO, Kotani, Kimi of Reiyukai or Kitamura, Sayo of KOtai Jingu-kyO
Mikoshi	"Kami-palanquin" or 'honourable palanquin'. An ornate covered litter used to carry a kami, as if a distinguished personage, from one place to another. The usual English translation of 'portable shrine' is not quite accurate for the journey is usually between the main shrine and one or more temporary shrines or resting-places (o-tabisho) or between one permanent shrine and another if the kami is visiting a neighbouring kami. At the SannO matsuri of the taisha for example two male and female 'rough spirits" (ara-mitama) are brought together in two mikoshi to be married. The mikoshi is analogous to an imperial palanquin; it is purely for travel and the journey is in some cases carried out in solemn secrecy and in darkness. Though a public processional journey may take the kami past the homes of parishioners (see Shinkoshiki) and the kami hallows the places (ujiko-machi) it passes, worship takes place only at o-tabisho, special places where the kami comes to rest. Mikoshi vary in construction; there are for example four, six and eight-sided versions, and they come in many sizes, ranging from several tons to those designed to be drawn by children. They are housed at shrines between use in a building called the mikoshi-gura or shinyo-ko. One or more mikoshi are generally carried during by an energetic group of young adult men of about 18-30 years who should be ritually pure (harae) Mikoshi themselves may be purified; the mikoshi of the taisha are dipped in seawater for this purpose. The men carrying the mikoshi represent the organised of the shrine and are accompanied by a procession of priests and other participants. At night they will escort the mikoshi with numerous lanterns (chOchin) In some cases a horse follows the palanquin in case the kami wishes to ride part of the way. The origin of the mikoshi is unclear but there is a tradition that in the Nara period a purple coloured renyo (palanquin) was used to welcome the deity Usa Hachiman to the capital for the celebration of the construction of the Daibutsu (Great Buddha) In Tokyo where the use of was stopped in the late era because of problems with overhead cables, festivals focus much more on the mikoshi, which are carried by men and women, including recently some women-only teams of bearers (onna-mikoshi) Some mikoshi processions which had died out in the Meiji period have been re-established in the post-war period with varying degrees of success to provide urban areas with a sense of communal identity
Chochin	are often welcomed or accompanied by lantern-bearers. Chochin are used mainly in the August-October period at the same time as other nighttime fire (hi-matsuri) torch and firework festivals associated with praying for rain (amagoi) and for the ripening of the rice harvest. In a festival parade inscribed lanterns may be carried to represent key donors or organisers of the festival. At the Isshiki-no-ochochin matsuri at the Suwa-jinja in Isshiki, Aichi (26-27th August) enormous chochin ten metres high and six metres across are displayed. At the Nihonmatsu-jinja, Fukushima, seven floats of lanterns carrying taiko drummers parade through the town in early October. The Akita kanto matsuri (5-7th August) features 'kanto'
Minatogawa jinja	A era in Kobe built in 1871 around an earlier monument to Kusunoki, Masashige to whom the shrine is dedicated. Since 1987 it has formed part of a shichi-fukujin route developed around seven major shrines and Buddhist temples to promote tourism and shrine visits in Kobe
Mind Body Soul	MBS
Minions Of Satan	MOS
Ministerial Pension Plan	MPP
Ministry of Jesus Network	MJN
Ministry Strategy Group	MSG
Ministry Training Strategy	MTS
Minkan Shinko	"Folk religion'; 'Folk beliefs'. An academic category used to analyse and understand the complex interrelationships within Japanese religion. Minkan shinko may be defined as a developing substrate of folk-religious beliefs in Japan which incorporates elements from, yet transcends official distinctions between, "Buddhism", "Shinto", "Taoism", "Confucianism", "Christianity" etc., and which manifests most powerfully today in the world-views and practices of the 'new religions'. It has been argued (notably by Hori, Ichiro) that folk religion, which Hori also calls 'popular Shinto' represents the true, indigenous and persistent character of 'Japanese religion'. The main features of this 'Japanese religion' may be identified as shamanism or spirit mediumship of various kinds, animistic beliefs, filial piety, reciprocal obligation and ancestor reverence or worship, a syncretic approach to religious beliefs and an 'easy continuity' or absence of clear boundaries between the human and divine worlds. Some purists would argue that Shinto should not be confused with folk religion (see Kodo) Observers of Shinto as it is practised know that Shinto and folk religion cannot be distinguished any more than Buddhism and folk religion, while proponents of the folk-religion-as-substrate thesis might argue that "Shinto" is itself part of folk religion
Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod	MNS
Minor Deity	MD
Minstrels For Christ	MFC
Miracles Being Achieved	MBA
Misogi-harai	'Purification, or the process of purification; spiritual discipline. It is an equivalent of shugyō, the Buddhist term for spiritual ascesis or training. The term has different interpretations in different Shinto lineages and may refer to one or more of bodily, mental, behavioural and spiritual purification. The exercises used to achieve these forms of harai (purity) depend on an interpretation of Shinto as a path of individual spiritual cultivation similar to that of Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism, and therefore combine influences from a variety of Sino-Japanese religious and spiritual sources. See Misogi and Harae
Misogi-harai-no-kami	'Kami of purification'. The kami produced by Izanagi's purification (misogi) following his visit to They are often worshipped collectively at the entrance to large shrines. See
Mission Deliver Kindness	MDK
Mission Network News	MNN