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Generally, taking your own life is considered a violation of the code of ahimsa (non-violence) and therefore equally sinful as murdering another. Some scriptures state that to die by suicide (and any type of violent death) results in becoming a ghost, wandering earth until the time one would have otherwise died, had one not died by suicide.
A torii gateway to the Yobito Shrine (Yobito-jinja) in Abashiri City, HokkaidoThere is no universally agreed definition of Shinto. [2] According to Joseph Cali and John Dougill, if there was "one single, broad definition of Shinto" that could be put forward, it would be that "Shinto is a belief in kami", the supernatural entities at the centre of the religion. [3]
When a person dies in an unexpected, violent or traumatic way, the reikon remains amongst the living as a yūrei, or ghost, who must complete an unfinished duty amongst the living or be given a proper ritual to ease its passing into the next world.
In Buddhism, there is the Mara that is concerned with death, the Mrtyu-mara. [3] It is a demon that makes humans want to die, and it is said that upon being possessed by it, in a shock, one should suddenly want to die by suicide, so it is sometimes explained to be a "shinigami". [4]
The shrine enshrines and, according to Shinto beliefs, provides a permanent residence for the spirits of those who have fought on behalf of the emperor, regardless of whether they died in combat. 1,066 of the enshrined kami were POWs convicted of some level of war crime after World War II and a further two were charged with war crimes but died before their trials were completed.
In Japan, where the dominant religion is Shinto, 69% of the religious organisations agree with the act of voluntary passive euthanasia. [39] The corresponding figure was 75% when the family asked for it. In Shinto, the prolongation of life using artificial means is a disgraceful act against life. [39]
A still common consequence of this is the habit to give up the traditional New Year visit to a Shinto shrine if a death in the family has occurred within the last year. [ 4 ] Shinto priests (the kannushi ) are expected to pay particular attention to avoid this kind of kegare , and must be careful to deal correctly with death and disease.
Kami (Japanese: 神, ) are the deities, divinities, spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, beings and the qualities that these beings express, and/or the spirits of venerated dead people.