ONLINE LECTURE SERIES

JAPAN AND KAMI
3. Shinto and japanese life - as seen at meiji jingu shinto shrine, tokyo

date & time

wednesday, june 18, 2025
7PM-8:15PM (PST)

ADMISSion is Free, registration required 

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In this lecture, Moriyasu Ito, who has served as a Shinto priest at Meiji Shrine, an institution widely known to Americans, will introduce Meiji Shrine while discussing what a shrine is, what kami is within Shinto, the relationship between Japanese life and Shinto, and Shinto from an international perspective. He will contextualize this information based on his global experiences. 

This is the third lecture in a four-part series that will explore the various relationships that exist between Japanese culture, Shinto, and its deities. 

About Lecturer:

Moriyasu Ito   

Moriyasu Ito is a Shinto priest of Meiji Jingu. After earning a Bachelor of Arts from the Faculty of Law at Kyoto University, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). He was posted to Canada and Pakistan, and worked in the Southwest Asia Division and other departments in MOFA. He joined Meiji Jingu at the age of 35 to become a Shinto priest. Thereafter he has many experiences in foreign countries, such as one month in Assisi, a heavily Catholic-oriented city in Italy and spending four months at Brigham Young University in Utah, which is supported by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka Mormon). Seeing and attending various religious rituals and dialogues, he is seeking the meaning of Shinto as his capacity at Meiji Jingu.

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