A common sight in koryū dōjō today is the Shintō kamidana (神棚), the altar dedicated to the worship o
A common sight in koryū dōjō today is the Shintō kamidana (神棚), the altar dedicated to the worship of the kami. But the fact is there were actually no kamidana in dōjō during the age of the samurai.The samurai would not know what to make of having a kamidana in a dōjō. Shintō altars were ordered to be added to all budō dōjō by government decree in 1935 due to the “National Reinforcement Policy” which fused imperialism with fascist militarism. This forced a direct relationship between budō and kōdō - reverence toward the Imperial Way. Today, supposed samurai koryū schools have no idea that having a kamidana in their dōjō has no connection at all with the ways or beliefs of the samurai they are claiming to emulate. But is from Japan’s nationalistic stance during the Second World War. -- source link
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