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Result of Shinto Essay Competition 2003 Sponsored by the International Shinto Foundation (Announced on September 25, 2003) |
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Shinto Essay Competition 2003 received eight entries from seven nationalities (Bangladesh, Belarus, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Spain and USA). The essays were carefully read and evaluated by a panel of seven jurors, who are members of ISF's Board of Trustees. We are pleased to announce the results of the panel's deliberations as follows: due to very close judgement points it was decided to distinguish the most excellent essays by one 1st prize, one 2nd prize, one 3rd prize and one additional encouraging prize. |
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Submitted essays belong to and will be published by the International Shinto Foundation. |
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Participating
in the Shinto Essay Competition 2003 has given me both
academic inspiration and personal encouragement. The
designated essay theme of the relationship between Shinto
and Taoism, a Chinese indigenous religion, prompted
me to re-explore Shinto from a fairly new angle. Such
attempt has undoubtedly pointed out a favorable direction
for my future research in religious studies in Japan
and China, by which the range of my academic perspective
will surely be widen. Hence, to me, my essay can also
be viewed as a report or record of my personal understanding
of Shinto in a more advance level. Above all, the prize
and certificate awarded to me by the International Shinto
Foundation has helped me to build up confidence, allowing
me to face any challenges in the future. For which I
earnestly hope that the ISF will continue and better
this kind of academic related activities. Finally, let
me take this opportunity to thank the ISF and the jurors
of the Shinto Essay Competition for giving me this chance
to improve myself; it has definitely been a precious
experience to me.
Participating
in the 2003 Shinto Essay Competition held by the International
Shinto Foundation and being presented with the second
prize have been my great pleasures. The Essay Competition
organized by the Foundation every year does not only
enhance our understanding of Shinto, but also reminds
us of the religion as an integral part of valuable heritage
of both Japanese local people and people all over the
world. People’s attention to the relation between Shinto
and Daoism, a Chinese native religion, usually is not
much, but the Foundation has insightfully noticed the
similarity of these two religions and raised it as one
of the topics of the 2003 Competition. The knowledge
of Shinto I have gained through the examination of relevant
material is not only useful in my understanding of Japanese
society and history, but also helps me in my studies
of Chinese religious world. Therefore, I am very glad
to have taken part in the Competition, and very grateful
to the International Shinto Foundation. Besides, I would
like to express here my gratitude to my supervisors
of master and doctoral programs. Their instruction is
always important to me.
It
is a great honor for me to receive the Encouraging
Prize for the International Shinto Foundation 2003
Shinto Essay Competition. Through this competition,
I
have learnt much about the Shinto religion and, at the
same time, understand the intricacies of comparative
religious studies since this competition also
integrated a comparative angle. This project is highly
meaningful as it contributes to world peace by
fostering a greater understanding of world religions
and also introduces East Asian religions to the world
audience. An ancient religion as old as Shinto brings
with it wisdom and understanding which is enlightening
in our complex contemporary society.
The interest sparked off a personal quest to discover
more about the historical, cultural and philosophical
tenets of this fascinating religion and also propel
the interest in examining it from a comparative
perspective. I wish to thank the Foundation for this
honor and also for taking the culturally valuable
efforts to organize this meaningful competition.
Hopefully, the Foundation will generate more funding,
competitions as well as scholarships/fellowships to
further studies of such comparative studies. 
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