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EveryParampara

Shinto, Taoist and folk Chinese traditions

Shinto, Taoist and folk Chinese traditions cover the native customs of Japan and China and their neighbours: shrine visits and festivals, ancestor veneration, temple fairs, the Lunar New Year, Qingming, the Hungry Ghost month, the rites of birth and marriage, feng shui and traditional medicine.

Shinto, Taoist and folk Chinese traditions cover the native customs of Japan and China and their neighbours: shrine visits and festivals, ancestor veneration, temple fairs, the Lunar New Year, Qingming, the Hungry Ghost month, the rites of birth and marriage, feng shui and traditional medicine. These are practised alongside Buddhism and Confucian ethics and often without a clear line between them. Many people take part in the customs without thinking of them as a religion. These pages describe them as those who keep them do.

Shrines, gods and spirits

In Shinto, kami, spirits of nature, places and ancestors, are honoured at shrines, with a bow, a clap, a coin and a prayer. Festivals, matsuri, carry the kami in portable shrines through the streets, accompanied by drums and food stalls. In Chinese folk religion, temples to local gods, such as Mazu and Guandi, are the centre of festivals, with incense, offerings and operas performed for the deities.

Ancestors and the year

Households keep an ancestral altar, and the year is marked by Lunar New Year, Qingming tomb sweeping, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Hungry Ghost Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Japan, hatsumode, setsubun, the Girls' Day and Obon give the year its rhythm. Many of these blend Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian elements, and families keep them as part of being at home.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Shinto, Taoist and folk Chinese (faith). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇯🇵 Kishiwada, JapanKishiwada Danjiri Matsuri岸和田だんじり祭 A high-speed festival of wooden shrine floats pulled through Kishiwada, JapanFestival 🇯🇵 Fukuoka, JapanHakata Gion Yamakasa博多祇園山笠 A July festival in Fukuoka featuring heavy float races through the streets of Hakata.Festival 🇯🇵 JapanEma絵馬 Small wooden plaques left at Japanese shrines and temples for prayers and wishes.Spiritual 🇯🇵 Aomori, JapanAomori Nebuta Matsuri青森ねぶた祭 A summer festival in Aomori featuring large warrior floats and dancing participants.Festival 🇯🇵 JapanMiko巫女 A woman who serves at a Shinto shrine, dancing, cleansing and helping with ritesSpiritual 🇯🇵 JapanJichinsai地鎮祭 A Shinto ritual to ask the land spirits for protection before building a new home or structure.Spiritual 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreKyūdō弓道 The Japanese martial art of archery, practiced with an asymmetrical longbowGame 🇯🇵 JapanOmikujiおみくじ Paper fortunes drawn at Japanese shrines and temples to consult divine guidanceSpiritual 🇨🇳 Puyang, ChinaFeng shui風水 The Chinese spatial practice of aligning homes and graves with natural energyFolklore 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanTorii鳥居 A traditional Japanese gate marking the entrance to a Shinto shrine and separating the sacred from the mundane.Spiritual 🇯🇵 JapanOmamori御守 (omamori) Japanese protective amulets sold at shrines and temples for luck and safety.Spiritual 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanIkebana生け花 The Japanese art of arranging cut branches and flowers in a vesselPerformance 🇨🇳 China and 2 moreChinese knotting中國結 (Zhōngguó jié) A folk craft of cord tied into lucky shapes, made in China and given as charmsCraft 🇯🇵 JapanKadomatsu門松 A Japanese New Year gateway decoration of pine and bamboo where a visiting deity can restSeasonal 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMid-Autumn Festival中秋節 An annual harvest festival celebrating family reunions, full moons and mooncakesFestival · Sweets given and shared 🇯🇵 Kyoto, Japan and 4 moreHanami花見 A Japanese spring custom of gathering under blooming cherry trees to eat, drink, and celebrate the fleeting beauty of thFestival · Lunch 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanHinamatsuri雛祭り A March festival in Japan where families display ornamental dolls to pray for the health and happiness of young girls.Festival · Sweets given and shared 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreQingming Festival清明节 A spring custom of sweeping family graves and honouring ancestors across East Asia.Spiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 2 moreTanabataたなばた A Japanese summer star festival of written wishes hung on leafy bamboo.Festival 🇨🇳 China and 7 moreGhost Festival中元節 / 中元节 (Zhōngyuán jié) A full-moon night in the seventh lunar month for feeding ghosts and guiding souls homeSpiritual 🇨🇳 China and 2 moreQixi Festival七夕 A Chinese night of romance, needlecraft wishes and stargazing for two mythic loversFestival 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanShichi-Go-San七五三 A Japanese festival celebrating the growth of three-year-old girls, five-year-old boys, and seven-year-old girls.Rite of passage 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanSetsubun節分 A Japanese ritual of throwing roasted soybeans to banish evil spirits and welcome spring.Festival · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreDouble Ninth Festival重陽節 An autumn festival of mountain walks, chrysanthemum wine and ancestor remembranceSeasonal · Tea-time and snacking customs 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanHatsumōde初詣 The first shrine or temple visit of the Japanese New Year to pray for good fortuneSpiritual 🇯🇵 JapanComing of Age Day成人の日 A Japanese public holiday welcoming new adults with municipal rites and celebrationsRite of passage 🇯🇵 JapanHadaka Matsuri裸祭り Japanese festivals where participants clad in loincloths seek luck and purificationSpiritual 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanJidai Matsuri時代祭 An autumn costume procession celebrating Kyoto's imperial heritage and historyFestival 🇨🇳 China and 5 moreChinese New Year's Evechúxī A reunion day for ethnic Chinese families before the Lunar New Year, marked by feasts, rituals, and staying up late.Festival · Dinner 🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaLaba Festival臘八節 A winter porridge festival marking the start of the Chinese New Year seasonFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanAoi Matsuri葵祭 A classical Kyoto festival with an imperial procession and ancient shrine ritualsFestival 🇹🇼 Taichung, TaiwanDajia Mazu Pilgrimage大甲媽祖遶境進香 A nine-day walking procession across central Taiwan honouring the sea goddess MazuSpiritual 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan and 5 moreTaiko太鼓 (taiko) Japanese drums, and the ensemble style of playing themPerformance 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese paper cutting剪紙 / 剪纸 (jiǎnzhǐ) Chinese cut paper pictures, pasted on windows and doors for luck at New YearCraft 🇨🇳 China and 6 moreRed envelope紅包 / 红包 (hóngbāo) Money in a red packet, given at Lunar New Year, weddings and other big daysEtiquette 🇯🇵 JapanMiyamairi宮参り A first visit to a Shinto shrine, about a month after a baby is bornRite of passage 🇯🇵 Hiroshima, JapanKagura神楽 A sacred Shinto dance tradition in Japan that invites deities to descend and perform through human dancers.Performance 🇯🇵 JapanJapanese funeral葬儀 (sōgi) A Buddhist farewell in Japan: a wake, cremation, bone-gathering and a family graveRite of passage 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKanda Matsuri神田祭 A major Shinto festival with massive parades through the streets of central TokyoFestival 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanSanja Matsuri三社祭 A loud three-day Shinto festival in Tokyo honoring the founders of Sensō-ji temple.Festival 🇯🇵 Osaka, JapanTenjin Matsuri天神祭 A major Shinto festival in Osaka featuring a street procession and a river boat parade on the Okawa River.Festival 🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGion Matsuri祇園祭 A month-long Kyoto festival of grand floats, evening markets and purifying ritualsFestival 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanDaijō-sai大嘗祭 The emperor's once-in-a-reign Shinto rite of thanks for the rice harvestSpiritual 🇯🇵 Takayama, JapanTakayama Festival高山祭 Twin seasonal shrine festivals in Japan famed for elaborate lantern-lit floatsFestival 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanShinto wedding神前結婚 A short purification ceremony before the kami, sealed by three cups of sakeRite of passage 🇨🇳 Meizhou Island, China and 5 moreMazu媽祖 A sea goddess of the Chinese coast, asked for calm water and a safe returnSpiritual 🇯🇵 Suwa, JapanOnbashira Festival式年造営御柱大祭 A rite in Nagano where massive fir logs are dragged down mountains and raised at shrinesSpiritual 🇨🇳 Suzhou, China and 3 moreDongzhi冬至 A midwinter festival celebrating the return of light with family feasts and dumplingsSeasonal · Dinner
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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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