Shinto in Nara Japan, 749-770: Deities, Priests, Offerings, Prayers, and Edicts in Shoku Nihongi Ross Bender Published by PMJS Papers (23 November 2016) Premodern Japanese Studies (pmjs.org) Copyright © Ross Bender 2016 Bender, Ross. “Shinto in Nara Japan, 749-770: Deities, Priests, Offerings, Prayers, and Edicts in Shoku Nihongi.” PMJS: Premodern Japanese Studies (pmjs.org), PMJS Papers, November 2016. Note: This paper is a continuation of the thread “Shinto in Noh Drama (and Ancient Japan)” on PMJS.org listserve beginning June 14, 2016. PMJS Papers is an open-source platform for the publication of scholarly material and resources related to premodern Japan. Please direct inquiries to the editor, Matthew Stavros (
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[email protected] Shinto in Nara Japan, 749-770: Deities, Priests, Offerings, Prayers, and Edicts in Shoku Nihongi PMJS Papers Copyright © Ross Bender 2016 Shinto has become something of a taboo word, especially in the context of discussions of ancient Japanese thought. Fundamentally of course this tendency began as a reaction to the unsavory imperialist and fascist state Shinto of prewar Japan, and to the notion that Shinto was the timeless, unchanging religion of the Japanese race.