SHINTO

SHINTO ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN THEORY TOKYO CITY UNIVERSITY 2018 01 30 HANNE KVIG / KOHEI KUDO

SHINTO IDEOLOGY The origin of the word “Shinto” means “way of the kami”. Therefore, Shinto beliefs focus on the existence and power of the kami, or gods, that exist in the world, in nature, and especially in and throughout Japan.

Shinto beliefs and rituals are founded mainly upon creation myths surrounding the birth and development of the scared Japanese Islands. It is said that Izanagi and Izanami (Heaven and Earth) were a pair who gave birth to the Japanese Islands and various deities. The most widely worshipped of all kami is the sun-goddess Amaterasu. She is the daughter of Izanagi and Izanami who made their daughter ruler of the sky. According to Japanese mythology, the Emperors of Japan are considered to be direct descendants of Amaterasu.

AMATERASU AND THE CAVE Perhaps the most celebrated myth concerning Amaterasu is when she blocked herself in a cave following an argument with Susanoo (her brother) when he surprised the goddess with a monstrous flayed horse when she was quietly weaving in her palace with her younger sister Waka-hiru-me. As a consequence of Amaterasu’s disappearance the world was cast in total darkness and evil spirits ran riot over the earth. The gods tried all manner of ways to persuade the peeved goddess to leave the cave. On the advice of Omohi-Kane, cocks were set outside the cave in the hope their crows would make the goddess think that dawn had come. The gods also placed a large sakaki tree (Cleyera japonica) outside the cave and decorated it with sparkling jewels (magatama), fine white clothes and a mirror at its centre. In addition, the goddess Amenouzume (or Amano-Uzeme) danced so wildly in a strip-tease routine that the other gods’ uproarious laughter finally excited the curiosity of Amaterasu. Opening the blocked cave just enough to see what was going on and whilst distracted by seeing her stunning reflection in the mirror, the strong god Ame-no-tajikara-wo yanked the goddess out of the cave. Tuto-Tamu then held behind the goddess a pole of plaited straw and emphatically stated that the goddess could hide no longer and the world was once more bathed in her radiant sunlight.

THE SHINTO CONCEPT OF ‘EMPTINESS’ The story begins with nothingness: the first deities may appear from the chaos, from the void. It begins from the emptiness, and heads for order, expressed by the birth of the first Emperor. The story about Amaterasu hiding in the cave, is composed around the presence/absence of an object intrigue. When the sun is present, things are in order, and if it is hidden or absent, everything turns into chaos. This idea of emptiness ku, as ‘absence of objects’ and ‘absence of inner subject’ is deeply rooted in Japanese philosophy.

In Japanese mythological stories, ku (means sky and empty) is used in the creation myth, then as a marker for deity type and also in reference to the space between earth and heaven, then as ‘empty of something’. This space is inhabited with sky deities. Since the idea of emptiness is alien to mythological thinking, even in the space between the heaven and earth, i.e sky, someone should dwell, just as everywhere else, like spirits dwell in everything.

A SHINTO SITE WITH EMPTINESS Our interpretation of Shinto is located deep into the forest with high dense overgrown trees. The plateaurectangle of gravel is 30 cm elevated from the ground and marks the site as sacred. Gravel symbolizes purity and marks a distance. It separates the sacred place from the external world. You can’t step on it. All you can see is the surface and the fine, polished concrete object. The object is unreachable and has a 60 cm ditch around. The ditch makes the object more sacred, you can’t get close to it. The distance to the object and the closed object creates a desire and interest. The empty space inside the object is designed as dwelling place for gods and spirits. This emptiness does not mean non-existence. The space isn’t a simple void: rather it is conceived as a region with possibility, a numinous space open to visiting deities. The emptiness around the object and in the object has a power to fill something there. It is a space of potentiality, imagination and interest.

PLAN 1:200

SECTION 1:200