Eric Takabayashi wrote:
> "John W." wrote:
>
>> For those interested, I found a good bit of info at www.pantheon.org.
>
> I like this site. Most people have never even heard of these stories
> despite considering themselves Shinto.

You say that as if Shintoism is some organized religion with actual
followers. What do you mean when you say someone considers themselves a
shintoist? Do they refer to themselves as 神道教徒 or some such term? Of
course not. People follow traditions that, for lack of a better term, are
referred to (especially by Westerners) as Shinto. In any event, the fact
that such traditions are followed has absolutely nothing to do with the
stories that are (primarily) found in the Kojiki. Besides, the Kojiki was
deemphasized following the war because of its perceived connection with
nationalism. The only Japanese who are generally familiar with such stories
nowadays are people with some scholarly interest in the topic. I'm not even
sure if the right-wingers pay much attention to them.

Jeff