Part four: The Social Impact of Slavery in the Sulu Sultanate

The Sulu archipelago has a long tradition of being home and working ground to pirates, even long before the Europeans entered the stage. Slaves was captured or given as tribute was the main trading goods by these pirates. The word slavery itself raises certain images in the western mind, often pictures of people in chains receiving constant punishment and abuse. This traditional picture of a slave is however not applicable in the Southeast Asian world and a separate definition must be applied to the Asian slave system. In contrast to the western view of slavery the slave system in Sulu was mainly a property related establishment.

When Europeans encountered the Asian slave system in Sulu they negatively criticized the Malayo-Muslim way of slavery when they made rash conclusions and drew connections to the older and harsher European way of slavery. On the contrary the anti piracy campaigns by the British and the Spanish in the mid nineteenth century was carried out with aggression in the same manner as Sulu pirate raids at Bisayas and Borneo. In the region there were two main types of slaves, chattel slaves (banyaga, bisaya, ipun or ammas) and bond slaves (kiapangdilihan), and there was a clear distinction between these two types of slaves. Banyaga was either captured in slave raids or being the offspring of these victims, while Kiapangdilihan were ordinary people that had put themselves in debt. In very much contrast to the western view of slavery the Banyaga was entitled in Sulu to have families and even own property, and they were also found in positions of politics and economic roles such as bureaucrats, labourers, concubines and even slave raiders. Slavery was much used in the aim for incorporating and to increase the numbers of people in social system of Sulu, and were often put to give political support for local leaders and to be used as labourers in the fields and fisheries to uphold the economy. Even though the primary source of obtaining slaves was from raiding a considerable large amount of slaves was recruited as bond-slaves.

The skill of reading and writing among the Tausug aristocrats was funnily enough not well established, and banyaga slaves with these skills was used as scribes, interpreters or language tutors by the aristocracy. Males from various parts of the Malay world were in the majority of those who served as scribes but there were also female slaves of Filipino backgrounds that served at secretary positions from time to time at the Sultan.

The legal situation for slaves in Sulu was managed by the Sulu code of law based on the Muslim Sharia laws that allowed and accepted slavery. This law incorporated humane guidelines and strict guiding principles in the treatment of slaves. The laws against everybody and not only slaves in the Sultanate that committed crimes against the Sulu laws were severely punished and a few examples of punishment that was both hard and primitive are described by Orosa. Murder was punished by a fine of P105, and if the accused failed to pay the fine he became slave under the Sultanates law. Second offence murderers was tied to a tree and chopped and hacked until dead. Robbery was punished by a fine and all the stolen goods had to be returned or the perpetrator had to face slavery. If the offender was caught a second time he was to sentenced to death same way as a second time murderer. For theft a money-fine was the usual punishment, and if the criminal was caught again his right arm and foot where to be boiled in oil and amputated. A convicted adulterer was beaten with a stick in front of at least three witnesses and later exiled. A person convicted of incest was to be placed in basket filled by stones and put in the sea. On the contrary, being a slave did not always mean that one was socially or economically disadvantage to others in the society, but in many cases more safe and sound. Banyaga had the rights to purchase their freedom and obtain a new social status and ethnicity, and all slaves had the right to own property that upon the slave’s death was inherited by the slave master.

The conviction for numerous illegal offences was by heavy fines that forced people into dept-slavery, and this type of enslavement was common in the Sultanate. There was however not uncommon for an individual to put himself into dept in order to receive funds or goods for a funeral, wedding and even to liquidate a present debt. If the lender as explained by Steinberg et.al failed to return to borrowed amount after the allowed time of borrowing he and his closest dependants became debt bondsmen in anticipation of the debt. While the debt slave was in this position he could be left to pay of his debt in his home village, but he could also be required to perform duties in the slave masters household where the slave was provided with food and other necessaries in return for labour. For this work the slave received no payment and some remained in debt for the rest of their lives. Debt slavery was particularly common in areas with a shortage of labourers, and it gave some excellent return to creditors that received cheap manpower.

One large difference between the slave systems in Sulu was the social relationship between the slave and his master. The relationship was more of a follower and lord relation rather than slave and master. The slave’s social status was also closely linked to his master position, and if the master faced a decrease on the social ladder his slaves followed. As a slave owner one was obliged to care for the slave and supply them with the necessaries, and the right to earn their own living. If this was not fulfilled the slave could demand to be sold. On the other hand a banyaga slave could be punished physically, put to death, sold, bartered, given away or sold by the master at any point, and slaves with repeatedly escape tries behind them was put to death or just given away. Slaves with special skills and knowledge were treated in a favorable way by their masters.

As described by Warren the slaves were incorporated in several of field to fill labour gaps in the society, they became anything from raiders them selves to nurses, fishers, peasants, craftsmen etc. Work that required strong muscles like building or clearing forest was performed by the male slaves while the female slaves had duties like sowing or rice farming. Many female slaves were also working with household duties and some did become concubines of principal datus. In the military and economical establishment the banyaga played an important role and was encouraged to take part in the state system, this opportunity helped some banyaga to climb on the social ladder. Banyaga slaves that showed additional forwardness was employed on the slave owners ships not only as ordinary crewmen but also as traders. The trade between the islands of Jolo, Balangingi, and Palawan was often dealt with by slaves for slave the slave owners. Female slaves was working with assisting aristocrat women in their daily businesses and notable is that women had was the most skilfully traders in Sulu. Trade goods like cloth, vegetables in the villages or foreign vessels were done by banyaga slaves. The women of Noble class did not have the means to barter on products so they in turned commonly send out slaves onto to do this duties on the roads or in canoes. Items especially sought after from European traders by the upper class women was cups, scissors, bottles, buttons, tobacco, and opium. This trading by the slaves for their masters was a lucrative way of earning for many people.

Slaves put to work with farming maintained the food supply in the community, and they did besides from growing for themselves providing the local chief with a set amount of what they could yield. While agriculture remained the primary duty slave’s owners in coastal areas also used their labour for trepang and pearl fishing. Every one of the slaves was constrained to serve in the military when necessary. It was the effort by Sulu datus who collected local produce to be sold and traded with Chinese merchants in Jolo in the same way as other datus among the IIanum and Balingingi´s prowling of the region. Their aim was to barter with slaves or to add them to their own ownership.

Part three: The Social Impact of Slavery in the Sulu Sultanate

The Sulu economy was build up on commerce and had established a network of trading partners over the regional area and history. The Sulu economy was build up on commerce and had established a network of trading partners over the regional area and history, and as described by Warren the Sultanate had a much favorable position in terms of trade with Mindanao on the east, Borneo on the west, and Celebes that attracted merchants as far away as China. These Chinese ships came to trade their textile, silks, ceramics, earthenware, and spices. In contrast to the evolving tin producing states in Malaya the Chinese entered Sulu only as merchants to trade luxuries what the Sulus along with their partners had to offer. The system of rule was built up by a complex set of relationships where ones wealth and status were depended on the amount of followers he could be in command of. The Sultan was in the top of the ruling structure and below him there was a class of datu, which functioned as semi-independent leaders that only served the Sultan only when he was strong enough to be respected. These datus was constantly encountered among themselves in the thrash for more influence and power.

The population figures for South East Asia remained at a low level of growth in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and its calculated that the total population of South East Asia in 1600 where no greater than 22 million which gives a population density of about five persons per square kilometer. With this shortage of manpower raiders saw the lucrative market in trading slaves, and the whole idea was to supply labour in a resource-rich but people-poor environment. In the late 16th century Sulu came in the interest due to the European trade with China where jungle products from the region became increasingly asked for. The trading exchange involved the English from Bengal, Manilla, New England, Singapore and Labuan. This new way of trading the Taosug economy was boosted into levels never seen before in order to meet this new demand the Sultans ability to support raids contributed to the regions rise in influence and control.

The trading and shipping centre of the Sultanate was its Seaport Capital Jolo with its very much favourable location, for trading goods and hosting slave markets. Maritime raiding and trading in the South East Asian waters dates back as early as Srivijaya, Malacca, Aceh, Johor, Makassa as well as Sulu. The piracy was a complex socio-political-economic activity that was legitimized by rivalry and sometimes warfare, and its is not without difficulties the Asian type of piracy is understood in a western context, but can be described in similar manners as the privateering undertaken by European maritime states in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The types of pirates operating in the Sulu waters where of two different types: the ones that that operated under the Sultan as regular fighters, and those who operated independently. The crew of the regular pirate ships consisted of sailors and soldiers, and commander was usually a datu or panglima and the disposal of the booty was handed to the Sultan. The private ships and slave expeditions took place under the protection of the Sultan who in return received a 20 percent value of the booty taken. Pirate raids were however made outside the reach of the Sultans power where the pirates kept all the booty. There was a close connection between piracy and the slave trade in Southeast Asia , and long before the making of the Sultanate and the introduction of Islam the sailors of Sulu where raiding and seized any opportunity to loot and rob the weaker parts of the society.

With water in all directions and timber supply from the jungle, the people of Sulu became expert ship makers. Their ships they used where long and narrowly build with a large sail with the capacity of a crew of forty to sixty men, all made with the purpose of piracy in mind. The Sulu archipelago was a suitable landscape for piracy with its small islands, reefs, and inlets that were like made for pirate attacks on any sighted ship. The raiders technique in action was to force the enemy to engage in hand-to-hand combat by getting as close to the enemy as possible. When this was made a barrage of sharp spears where thrown to put the enemy out of order and allowing boarding of their ships. These pirate attacks could continue without interference until 1848 when three Spanish steam gunboats entered the Sulu waters, and this event marks the beginning of the end of the piracy in the Sulu archipelago. The Sulu pirates where no match for the foreign power and the Spaniards used their ships to attack pirate islands and forts to break their control The Island of Jolo itself became the trading center for these pirate routes, and an important hub for the regions slave trade.

Part three: The Social Impact of Slavery in the Sulu Sultanate

Part three of The Social Impact of Slavery in the Sulu Sultanate is in the making and will be available next week. Until then, enjoy and have fun.
Fred

The Social Impact of Slavery in the Sulu Sultanate: Part 2 Location and peoples

The Sulu archipelago is located in the Southern Philippines between Mindanao and Borneo. The archipelago consists of some 900 island of volcanic and coral origin and covers an area of 2,688 sq km. It contains of some 400 named islands and 500 unnamed and cover an area of nearly 3,000 sq km.

In the mid 15th century the inhabitants of the island were introduced to and converted to Islam by Abu Bakr . There were attempts of limited success from the Spanish to control the island and its people they named Moros. The islands did finally become a Spanish protectorate in the 19th century and in 1899 it came under the control of the United States.

These islands do at present day still endow smugglers and pirates with a free haven for their activities. The region is in fact home to a variety of subgroups of peoples with diverse differences in language and cultures, but the dominant group in the area is the Taosug, who are known to be seafarers with both military and merchant’s skills. Although surrounded by sea not all Taosug where seafarers, in fact many of them lived inland with agriculture as their predominate source of living.

The Social Impact of Slavery in the Sulu Sultanate: Part 1

Introduction:
With the introduction of western colonial power in South-East Asia in the end of the eighteen century an increasingly demand of products and raw materials was sought after in the ever growing markets of the region and Europe. The Sulu Sultanate that was located in the Southern Philippines between Mindanao and Borneo had long been sea trading its local produce with neighbors other and trading partners as far away as China.

The Sultanate with its favorable location for trade in all directions encountered an economic boom and grew its commercial power and influence rapidly. The Sulu trade was well established but all to a limited scale, something that changed dramatically with the growth of trade that in turn created consequences for the whole society. The region had long been home been home for traders and slave raiders, but due to the positive changes in the economy a labour vacuum was created. This vacuum did in turn open a new but much larger market for the slave traders and raiders, especially in a region where ones personal wealth was judged by how many slaves and servants one could support and own. To maintain and uphold this economy manpower was needed; manpower the region itself unfortunately had very limited resources of.

The region was sparsely populated with great recourses so there was a shortage of laborers to gather the wealth, and the solution to this dilemma was by increase the usage of slaves. Slavery in Asian context of the time was very different from the western view of the same thing and there were two types of slaves in Sulu: bondage slaves, and debt slaves. The bondage slaves were brought back by the Sultans ships as well as private entrepreneurs during their raids and were forced into slavery. The debt slaves were people owing assets to others which they paid back with labour.

This blog series will look upon the reasons and demand for having slaves, how they became to be slaves, and life outlook of the slaves in the Sulu Sultanate. I will also look at the different aspects of how the slaves and slavery was undertaken in the Sulu sultanate in the end of the eighteen century as well as their influence on the economy and daily life of the people of the Sulu archipelago.

TOJO HIDEKI Prime minister of Japan during World War II

Tojo Hideki
In the 1930s Hideki Tojo fought in the Sino-Japanese war, leading Japanese forces in occupied Manchuria. Known as the Japanese Prime Minister during World War II. Tojo became Prime Minister in 1941 and within two months ordered a surprise attack on U.S. naval forces in Hawaii.

The kingdom of Siam stands as one of the few non-western nations to have escaped domination by western powers in the nineteenth century.

The kingdom of Siam stands as one of the few non-western nations to have escaped domination by western powers in the nineteenth century.

This was due in large part to the efforts of two extraordinary Siamese Kings, Mongkut and his son Chulalongkorn. Under their rule, Siam made great strides towards following Japan along the path of westernization and modernization.

During his long, 27 years as a monk, King Mongkut was constantly in direct communication with the people of his parish and with those he met during foot weary pilgrimages throughout the land.

As Monarch, King Mongkut was determined not to lose that direct contact with his people by allowing protocol and tradition to shut him away.

But King Mongkut was different to any of his predecessors; for 27 years he had served as a devoted Monk and Abbot to the Buddhist Faith. King Mongkut was extremely well educated, versatile in several languages, progressive, thoughtful and caring.

The modernization of Siam began with the fourth king of the Chakri dynasty, King Mongkut. Mongkut took the throne just as Great Britain and France were showing a growing interest in acquiring lands in Southeast Asia, and he was determined not to see his country go down the same route to subservience that Siam's long-time rivals Annam (Vietnam) and Burma had.

Mongkut set out to slowly reform and modernize his country so that it would be better able to stand up to the European powers. Among Mongkut's reforms were the codification and publication of the country's laws, the election of judges (a failed reform that was abandoned), allowing citizens to petition the king for the redress of grievances, and an attempt to alleviate the poor condition of slaves.

Breaking with tradition, Mongkut allowed his subjects to look at him, and even went so far as to make frequent public appearances.

Mongkut had dozens of children, and planned to turn the throne over to his eldest legitimate son, Chulalongkorn, when the boy reached age 20 in 1873.

Unfortunately, Mongkut and Chulalongkorn both contracted Malaria on a trip to the Malay peninsula in 1868. Mongkut died from the disease, and Chulalongkorn seemed likely to die as well.

Upon the king's unexpected death, the diseased Chulalongkorn became king at the age of fifteen, and a regent was appointed to guide him until he reached majority.

Since the boy seemed unlikely to live, the new regent took the liberty of appointing Prince Wichaichan (an older nobleman) as Chulalongkorn's heir-apparent.


Chulalongkorn had a very clear plan for modernizing his country, and set out to do so in a methodical way.

He reformed the educational system, bringing it more in line with European systems. He began construction on railroads and other civic improvements.

He appointed a particularly clever brother, Prince Damrong, to run the provincial administration.

Within a very few years, Damrong's reforms had radically improved provincial management. Corruption and crony ism were in decline and tax revenues from the provinces had tripled. Chulalongkorn eventually enacted a plan to phase out both corvee labor and slavery, which would make all men in Siam free by the early twentieth century.

The single greatest threat to Siamese independence in the 1890s was France. Throughout the late 19th Century, the French had been exploring further and further up the Mekong river valley, searching for a "back door" into the riches of China.

Most of the Mekong Valley lay well within the borders of Siam. The French naturally felt that their expeditions would be safer and the area better managed if France took ownership of this land. French paranoia about an independent nation so close to their Annam and Cambodia protectorates only served to exacerbate the problem.

Aside from French meddling, Siam's development suffered from a number of other hindrances. One was that Chulalongkorn refused to borrow money from foreign banks. While this was a solid guarantee against problems caused by foreign debts, it limited the rate at which modern infrastructure could be constructed, and at which the economy could expand.

Another obstacle to growth was an extreme shortage of educated men to fill vital roles in society. Westernization meant introducing modern bureaucracies and book-keeping methods, creating a high level of demand for rational administrative skills at all levels of government and business. These things required educated minds, and the western-style schools that Chulalongkorn established were very hard-pressed to keep up with demand.

Tokugawa period a description in brief

The period of military rule in Japan (1603-1868) established by Tokugawa Ieyasu. During this period Japan saw little influence from the outside word and remained without external and internal military conflicts. Urbanisation, economic and spiritual development is characteristics of the period as well as the Samurai’s transformation from warriors to bureaucratic administrators. Literature, theater, arts, and philosophy were allowed to flourish with the development of the bourgeois elite during the long time of peace.

Where would you draw the boundaries of Asia and why? Is Australia part of Asia?

As a geographic area I agree with the current borders of Asia. It is nevertheless an artificial product made without for example any geopolitical, cultural, and ethnic consideration. This artificial type of boundary is nothing unique to Asia and can be found in most parts of the world. As examples North Africa has a population considerately different from the population living south of Sahara but we nerveless call the entire region for just Africa. Furthermore there is the Australia-Pacific region, a huge geographic area with Australia to the south west being the dominant power of the area. In the geopolitical perspective there is not without difficulties I see Australia definite place in this region and not belonging more to the South East Asia region, nerveless considering Australia’s political and military presents in the Pacific region there is a place for Australia in both these regions. There is also the two terms “Australia Pacific” and “Australasia” strengthening the importance of Australia as a land belonging to two regions.

The Asian tigers or Asia's Four Little Dragons.

Asia with China in the front is the fastest growing economic area in the world today.
Asia is no longer the old poor colonies but major economic players on the world stage. The most developed countries in the region are Japan, South Korea, and Singapore with economies as strong or stronger compared too many western countries.

The rise of education and the effects of globalisation have build up a large and increasable strong middle class with capital to spend. Unfortunately this economic boom has not provided the large population with its necessary’s.

By tradition there has always been focus on the cities and the development of them leaving the rural areas outside with minimal attention with only few exceptions. One of these exceptions is the ruthless exploitation of natural recourses undertaken by states in the attempted to bring their economies up to “western” standards. The poor and underprivileged are seldom if ever cared about by their ruling governments.

This has in its turn lead to discontent and the view of the so called “Occidentalism” among a large number of people and communities throughout the region. One definition of Occidentalism is “Occidentalism is a term for stereotyped and sometimes dehumanizing views on the so-called Western world. It is to some extent the same as when Asia is debated in the western world stereotyping and group people together. This “occidental” view of the western world is to some extent the basis to the increasing terrorist activities spreading from the region.

The trend of so called “Controlled Democracy” is also an increasing tendency among the South East Asian states. The former Thai Prime Minister was overthrown by the military in September 2006 due to his long reign of limited democracy efforts. A new prime minister was later chosen by the military to limit the fears of a complete military ruled nation. This act made by the military leaders is just in fact controlled democracy over again.

This trend is very much lead by China with its giant and increasable strong economy. Products cheaply manufactured in the Asia region are available throughout the world. The economic growth and the demand for them have strengthened made the Malaysian Prime Minister, Badawi to suggest an East Asian Community with free trade as the goal.

What is Asia? What defines a continent?

In what ways can we say that Asia exists and in what ways can we say that it is an artificial construction? I was given this question and I must say it is a tricky one.

Asia does very much exist in my opinion, both as a name and as a region. It is however very necessary to divide the whole of Asia into smaller regions divided by ethnicity, culture, language, and history.

The Middle East as the most western part of Asia has long been known by Europeans but is hardly considered in daily speech as a part of Asia when being discussed. The name and region of middle east is deeply rooted in our vocabulary and minds as the Arab and Muslim part of Asia, this view is however incorrect and generalising view of the region.

The name Asia was not an established word or term for the region itself until the nineteenth century. Europeans gave all the lands beyond their knowledge the name Asia without any consideration nerveless knowledge about Asia. In today’s world there has risen a need and to somewhat a demand to divide this huge landmass into smaller boundaries. Africa is frequently divided in the North Africa, and the Africa south of Sahara. In the same manner Russia and former Soviet Union states are repeatedly excluded from the rest of Europe in comparisons and similar. As an example Spain is classified as the second largest country in Europe, a position only achieved by a deliberate exclusion of Russia.

closed door to Japan

During the 1620s and 1630s the Tokugawa regime decided that Japan should end all its contacts with the outside world in order to protect the country from external influences that could harm the Japanese culture as well as disturb the political order.

The only foreign trade that remained legal was a small Dutch trading post as well as the occasionally Chinese Junks arriving in Nagasaki in Japans south-west. The decisions to cut of the outside world are commonly referred to as the ‘closed country’ or sakoku in Japanese, and would be in use until 1854.

Strong precautions was made to minimise any foreign influence by the authorities, the Dutch merchants could only travel in Japan with a formal permission from the establishment together with an escort. The Japanese people themselves faced death penalty if they were found guilty of having contact with the foreign world. The Japanese authorities was nevertheless not without interest of the outside world and the Chinese and the Dutch had to report regularly on what was happening in the world outside Japan.

Britain's war witch China resulted in the opening of Chinese ports as far north as the Yangtze, which in turn made it possible for colonist countries to access Japans shores much easier than ever before. The American Mathew Perry reached Japan 1853 on orders from his government and basically forced Japan to open itself to the world. Perry managed to negotiate treaties with Japan that was in very much favour for the American side, leaving the Japanese officials to accept the opening of more ports, low tariffs, and that American officials in Japan remained under American law. These arrangements are what are referred to as “the unequal treaties”.

All these incidents is what later lead up to the overthrown of the Tokugawa and the beginning of the Meiji restoration, a restoration that had as goal to protect, modernise, and industrialise Japan in order to become an equal player on the world political stage. Japan actively adapted western ideas, education, technology, innovations, and forms of organisation, among many other things. And what followed was a rapid full-size progress of industrialisation, urbanisation, and westernisation that changed the Japanese culture and society for ever.

The Meiji Restoration in Japan created an industrial infrastructure that allowed people to settle in urban areas, work in industries, a process that also changed the traditional Japanese social structures to become more westernised. Inter-marriages of social classes and the opening for commoners to serve in the military were two new major areas of opportunity for commoners.

The Meiji leaders realised that there was through education of the people Japan would gain its strength, and the Japanese education system saw some extensive changes and developments that would give every person in the country an opportunity to become literate. Japanese officials had visited public schools in the United States of America and as an effect of influences received there the Japanese did in 1872 announce the opening of public elementary schools and schools for Western studies in the Tokyo metro region. On September the 4, 1872 the Japanese government declared a nation wide system of education was to be established with the words “henceforth there shall be no community with an illiterate family nor a family with an illiterate person.

The leaders of early Meiji Japan decided also of a rapid industrialisation of the country that was to be completed in only one generation’s lifetime to eliminate the technological gap between Japan and the western countries. Japan saw as an effect of this industrialisation in the years from 1870 and forward a large increase of its population. In 1726 Japan had a population of just a few million but in had rapidly reached 52 million by 1915. The fast and stable raise was the effect of a secure supply of food production that in turn was due to the expansion of arable acreage, especially notable in Hokkaido. The Japanese population growth was notable in the development of urban centres and the industrial sector throughout Japan with the number of people living and working in cities steadily growing. The percentage of population living in cities of 50,000 or more doubled in the years from 1888 to1913. The reason for his growth was that more people was changing from and agricultural based living to non-agricultural jobs found mainly in towns and cities. Industry and commerce with numerous positions in administration was to put agriculture out of place as the backbone of the economy. Factories provided jobs for most of the laborers but the importance Japans leaders placed on mining gave the miners a special place in the social order. Mining was a hard work that had developed from small scale to all-encompassing importance. Mining was besides hard a very dangerous job that caused repeated accidents, riots, and suppression by employers and police.

Well my hands hurts so I am going to leave here with this. Please comment your personal opinions and thoughts. Fred

Shinto i brief: The old religion of Japan

In my studies I have covered numerous themes and subjects. Some of them very interesting some of them quite dull, but one of my favorite ones so far is about SHINTO.

Shinto is original religion of Japan starting about 500BCE. It´s name can be traced back to the Chinese word "shin tao" which means "the way of the gods". Compared to many other religions Shinto has no definite philosophy, moral code or similar. Shinto creation stories tell of the history and lives of the "Kami" (deities, spirits). Kami is also often referred to as the Gods of Shinto. These Gods are not gods in traditional Western view but more like spirits that can take shape of things nature like wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Even humans can become Kami after their death. They are then revered(honored, worshiped) by their families as ancestral Kami. In contrast to many monotheist religions, there are no absolutes in Shinto. There is no absolute right and wrong. Shinto shrines are called "Jinja".

This is just a very short and brief explanation of the old religion Japan. But if you want more information about Shinto Google is a fantastic place to look at.

mata ashita ne