Item 2 in Shinto Ethical Principles
Sincerity and truthful intention
Makoto is associated with sincerity, honesty and wholehearted conduct rather than mere outward conformity.
- Position
- 2
- Form
- Mixed formulation
- Obligation
- Context-dependent
- Wording status
- Editorial paraphrase
- Intended audience
- Shinto practitioners and communities; this is a descriptive framework rather than one universally binding canonical list
- Last reviewed
- 28 June 2026
Names and terminology
Canonical name: Sincerity and truthful intention
Source wording
Editorial category or principle summary based on the linked primary and scholarly sources.
Literal meaning
Makoto is associated with sincerity, honesty and wholehearted conduct rather than mere outward conformity.
Broader interpretation
This entry summarises a major area of the wider framework. It is not one verbatim canonical sentence or an exhaustive account of every interpretation.
Historical context
Shinto developed through diverse local kami traditions, court ritual, interaction with Buddhism and Confucianism, shrine institutions and modern state formation.
Practical meaning
Application depends on the relevant community, role, historical setting and the specific rule or teaching involved.
Ethical purpose
The principle is assessed by the interests it protects, the harms it prevents and the conduct it encourages.
Exceptions and disputes
Scope, authority and present application are disputed. Tradition-specific interpretation should be separated from independent ethical evaluation.
Variations across schools or traditions
Shrine Shinto, folk traditions, imperial traditions and new religious movements differ. Purity and harmony may be interpreted ritually, socially, psychologically or morally.
Modern application
Modern application should consider evidence, consent, equality, proportionality, human dignity and foreseeable consequences.
Criticism and difficult cases
Purity language can be misunderstood as a judgment about personal worth, and historical State Shinto became entangled with nationalism and imperial power. Claims that Shinto is inherently environmental should be tested against actual institutions and conduct.
Truth By Reason analysis
The principle may contain genuine moral insight, but its authority and application must still be justified rather than assumed from tradition alone.
Ethical themes
Sources
- Kojiki Mainstream secondary source
- Nihon Shoki Mainstream secondary source
- The General Principles of Shinto Life Mainstream secondary source