Dear Link the Zora:
I have wanted to say this for a while, but the popular western interpretation of the Showa Mikado's "denial of divinity" is WRONG...
Humanity Declaration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia,
While the following quote may sound arrogant,
Showa Mikado said:
It is permissible to say that the idea that the Japanese are descendants of the gods is a false conception; but it is absolutely impermissible to call chimerical the idea that the emperor is a descendant of the gods.
Notice that he never says outright that they are
NOT DESCENDANTS OF THE KAMI, he merely says it is
PERMISSIBLE TO SAY THEY AREN'T!!
Seems far less arrogant than this:
The Nicene Creed said:
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;
I mean, he can't be the ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD, because, weren't we all "made in God's image"?!
Also, check out this link:
BBC - Religions - Shinto: Divinity of the Emperor...
In addition, these quotes are from The Complete Idiot's Guide To The World's Religions:
Section on Shinto said:
Although there is no deity regarded as supreme over all kami, the sun goddess Amaterasu is accorded a high rank. Within Shinto, the emperor of Japan (whose temporal power has undergone many fluctuations over the centuries) is regarded as a direct descendant of Amaterasu.
It also mentions Hirohito's "renunciation off divinity", but only 1 time, ...&...
This is in "The Least You Need To Know" section, that concludes every chapter in "The Complete Idiot's Guide" series...
Summarizing Shinto said:
Preeminent among the innumerable kami is Amaterasu, the sun-goddess, regarded as the source of the dynastic line of Japanese emperors.
All emphasis is by myself...
The Mikado can STILL BE A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF AMATERASU!!
I'm fairly confident he is!!
Thought you should know about all of this!!