Shinto

The torii gateway to the [[Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, one of the most famous examples in the country. Torii mark the entrance to Shinto shrines and are recognizable symbols of the religion.|right|thumb|upright=1.1]] , also called Shintoism, is the native religion and former ethnic cult of Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners Shintoists, although adherents rarely use that term themselves. With no cent

religious behaviour

thumb|right|Women dressed in yukata at Tanabata thumb|Tanabata festivities in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa in 2023 , also known as the , is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. The date of Tanabata varies by region of the country, but the first festivities begin on 7 July of the Greg

UNESCO World Heritage Site in Japan

, officially Izumo Ōyashiro, is one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan. No record gives the date of establishment. Located in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, it hosts two major festivals. It is dedicated to the kami (god) , famous as the Shinto deity of marriage and to Kotoamatsukami, distinguishing heavenly kami. The shrine is widely regarded as the oldest Shinto shrine in Japan, predating the Ise Shrine.

thumb|Modern miko in Meiji Shrine, [[Tokyo, in 2000]]

300px|right|thumb|A displaying a and are miniature household altars provided to enshrine a Shinto . They are most commonly found in Japan, the home of worship.

thumb|right|Two kadomatsu made of bamboo thumb|thumbtime=1|Two kadomatsu at a Shinto shrine in Nagano Prefecture|Nagano, 2023

wood plaque deposited in a Japanese shrine or temple to ask for a wish

are random fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Literally "sacred lot", these are usually received by making a small offering and randomly choosing one from a box, hoping for the resulting fortune to be good. , vending machines sometimes dispense .

thumb|250px|Hatsumōde at Daishō-ji (Inuyama)|Daishō-ji in [[Inuyama, Aichi]] is one of the major Japanese traditions of the new year, which is the first visit to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine of the Japanese New Year. Typically taking place on the first, second, or third day of the year, it is meant to bring a fresh start to the year. Hatsumōde is written with two kanji: the former means “first” and the latter means “visiting a shrine or temple.”

Pair of sacred rocks in Ise Japan

thumb|275 px|Mount Fuji is one of Japan's shintai.

person responsible for maintaining a Shinto shrine as well as for leading worship of a given kami

thumb|Hōnensai

thumb|Night misogi under a waterfall at Tsubaki Grand Shrine

thumb|A himorogi at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū thumb|Himorogi of Ame-no-hohi|Amenohohi-no-mikoto at [[Rokkosan Country House.]] in Shinto terminology are sacred spaces or altars used to worship. In their simplest form, they are square areas with green bamboo or sakaki at the corners without architecture. These in turn support sacred ropes (shimenawa) decorated with streamers called shide. A branch of sakaki or some other evergreen at the center acts as a yorishiro, a physical representation of the presence of the kami, a being which is in itself incorporeal.

right|thumb|Two variations of kusudama. The kusudama in the lower photo is not threaded together.

thumb|150px| in front of Shinto shrine , , or are wooden wands, decorated with two (zigzagging paper streamers) used in Shinto rituals. It may be considered an Ōnusa with only two Shide.

official religion of the Japanese Empire, emphasizing the divinity of the Japanese emperor

are liturgical texts or ritual incantations in Shinto, usually addressed to a given kami.

thumb|Chōzu-ya at rural Make-jinja thumb|A sign (read right-to-left) explains how to do chōzu thumb|Inside a pavilion, performing chōzu is a Shinto water ablution pavilion for a ceremonial purification rite known as temizu or . The pavilion contains a large water-filled basin called a .

Japanese scholarship deity

refers to the Japanese belief that mystical powers dwell in words and names. English translations include "soul of language", "spirit of language", "power of language", "power word", "magic word", and "sacred sound". The notion of kotodama presupposes that sounds can affect objects, and that ritual word usages can influence the environment, body, mind, and soul. Some interpret the belief as the discovery of commands words that can affect physiology and the mind.

thumb|Kakuryū Rikisaburō, a sumo wrestler, wearing a belt with Shide demonstrating his status as a [[Yorishiro]] is a Japanese word, meaning a (or deity) who is a human being. It first appeared in the () as the words of Yamato Takeru saying: "I am the son of an ."

paper streamer used in Shinto rituals

' or ' ( or ) is the general term for ritual purification in Shinto. is one of four essential elements involved in a Shinto ceremony. The purpose is the purification of pollution or sins () and uncleanness (). These concepts include bad luck and disease as well as guilt in the English sense.

thumb|225 px|The sandō at Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto

thumb|A small hokora in Kyoto. Though the hokora are usually categorized as Shintoist, they are often decorated with a swastika which in Japan is a symbol associated with Buddhism. In Kyoto especially, many hokora are actually dedicated to Kannon, a [[bodhisattva, rather than Shinto deities.]] thumb|The character 祠

thumb|Dōsojin represented as a human couple. thumb|250x250px|The Dōsojin is on the left Dōsojin (道祖神) are a class of protective Shinto deities (kami) commonly venerated in eastern Japan, particularly in the Kantō, Chūbu, and Tōhoku regions. They are associated with liminal spaces such as village boundaries, crossroads, and mountain passes, and are believed to ward off evil spirits, epidemics, and other harmful influences that threaten individuals or communities during transitional stages of life.2 The worship of Dōsojin reflects a blend of ancient animistic beliefs, local folk customs, and ele

An is a guardian kami of a particular place in the Shinto religion of Japan. The ujigami are prayed to for a number of reasons, including protection from sickness, success in endeavors, and good harvests.

ancient pilgrimage routes

Japanese dessert consisting of 2 round mochi, the smaller placed atop the larger, and a daidai with an attached leaf on top, with a sheet of konbu and a skewer of dried persimmons under the mochi

thumb|upright=0.6|right|alt=A wooden pole stood on a square base. It is covered in shaggy paper streamers tied at the top of the pole.|An

thumb| by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi depicting [[Sugawara no Michizane as the . After Sugawara no Michizane's death, lightning struck the palace, killing and injuring many of the powerful people involved in his banishment, and Sugawara no Michizane was enshrined in the (Shinto shrines) as the Tenjin.]] In a broad sense, is an honorific for a spirit, especially one that causes hauntings, and the term is used as a synonym for . In a narrower sense, it refers to a noble or accomplished person who lost a political power struggle or died prematurely from an epidemic or other disease, becoming an that brin

The Japanese word refers to the spirit of a kami or the soul of a dead person. It is composed of two characters, the first of which, , is simply an honorific. The second, means "spirit". The character pair , also read , is used exclusively to refer to a ''kami's spirit. Significantly, the term is a synonym of shintai, the object which in a Shinto shrine houses the enshrined kami''.

thumb|A gunbai The is a type of signal baton and Japanese war fan. Once held by military leaders (such as ) and priests in the past, it is used in the modern day by umpires in sumo wrestling.

thumb|Chōzubachi at a temple thumb|Performing temizu from a domestic chōzu-bachi, 1910s. A , or water bowl, is a vessel used to rinse the hands in Japanese temples, shrines and gardens. Usually made of stone, it plays an important role in the tea ceremony. Guests use it to wash their hands before entering the tearoom, a practice originally adapted from the custom of rinsing one’s mouth and cleansing one’s body in the chōzuya before entering the sacred precincts of a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple.

“characters [moji] of the Age [dai] of the Gods [jin]”, scripts claimed to be from Japanese antiquity, but considered by epigraphic scholars to be mythological forgeries and beliefs

, also known as , is a Shinto kami.

Shinto sects distinguished from Shrine Shinto

Takamimusubi (高御産巣日, lit. "Exalted Generative Force") is a creation deity in Japanese mythology, who was the second of the first beings to come into existence.

is the Japanese term for a state of pollution and defilement, important particularly in Shinto as a religious term. Typical causes of kegare are the contact with any form of death, childbirth (for both parents), disease, and menstruation, and acts such as rape. In Shinto, kegare is a form of tsumi (taboo violation), which needs to be somehow remedied by the person responsible. This condition can be remedied through purification rites called misogi and harae. Kegare can have an adverse impact not only on the person directly affected, but also to the community they belong to.

is a Japanese deity (kami) of physical strength who appears in Japanese mythology. Ame-no-tajikarao is written as 天手力男神 in Kojiki, and 天手力雄神 in Nihon Shoki. Tajikarao's name means sky-hand-power-male.

right|thumb|267x267px|Ceremonial arrow used to drive off evil thumb|Nishiki-e depicting a ceremony for a newly constructed building in the [[Edo period. Behind the gohei staff held by the man in the front, two hamaya can be seen, used to ward off evil. (Hiroshige, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Ōdenmachō gofukuten)]] is a type of arrow given at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples as a Japanese New Year's talisman or sacred tool. It is often paired with a bow called a . right|thumb|254x254px|New Year's Day decoration for a family with a baby boy In addition to this, hamaya and hama yumi are

island in Japanese mythology

Takeminakata (タケミナカタ), also known as Minakatatomi or Takeminakatatomi, is a kami in Japanese mythology. Also known as or after Suwa Grand Shrine (Suwa Taisha) in Nagano Prefecture in which he is enshrined alongside his consort Yasakatome, Takeminakata is historically worshiped as a god of wind, water and agriculture, as well as a patron of hunting and warfare, in which capacity he enjoyed a particularly fervent cult from various samurai clans during the medieval period such as the Hōjō or the Takeda. Takeminakata was also held to be the mythical ancestor of certain families who once served at

float that is pulled or carried during a festival in Japan

is a Japanese word that indicates the violation of legal, social or religious rules. It is most often used in the religious and moral sense. Originally, the word indicated a divine punishment due to the violation of a divine taboo through evil deeds, defilement (kegare) or disasters. When translated in English as "sin", the term covers therefore only one of the three meanings of the Japanese word.

, also known as , is a warrior god in Japanese mythology. Also known under the epithet Katori Daimyōjin () after his shrine in northern Chiba Prefecture (historical Shimōsa Province), Katori Jingū, he is often revered alongside Takemikazuchi (the god of Kashima Shrine), with whom he is closely associated (his brother). He is the general of Amaterasu and regarded as a legendary ancestor of the Mononobe clan, and like Takemikazuchi is one of the tutelary deities of the Fujiwara clan.

Ōmononushi (; historical orthography: Ohomononushi) is a kami in Japanese mythology associated with Mount Miwa (also known as Mount Mimoro) in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. He is closely linked in the imperial myth cycle recorded in the Kojiki (ca. 712 CE) and the Nihon Shoki (720 CE) with the earthly kami Ōkuninushi (Ōnamuchi); indeed, the latter text treats 'Ōmononushi' as another name for or an aspect - more precisely, the spirit or mitama - of Ōnamuchi.

alt=|thumb|300x300px|Attending a miyamairi at a shrine in Tokyo Miyamairi (宮参り, literally "shrine visit") is a traditional Shinto rite of passage in Japan for newborns. Approximately one month after birth (31 days for boys and 33 days for girls), parents and grandparents bring the child to a Shinto shrine, to express gratitude to the deities for the birth of a baby and have a shrine priest pray for their health and happiness.

refers to the animistic religion of Jōmon period Japan which is the alleged basis of modern Shinto. The search for traces of Koshintō began with the "Restoration Shinto" in the Edo period, whose goal was to remove any foreign ideas and worldviews from Shinto (specifically referring to Buddhism). Some movements which claim to have discovered this primeval way of thought are Oomoto and Izumo-taishakyo.

thumb|A tamagushi on a table (an (Shinto)|an) during a ceremony thumb|A kannushi holding a tamagushi

Japanese societal customs barring women from sacred places

link=https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Altar_of_JICHINSAI_or_SHINTO_ceremony_of_sanctifying_ground_%E5%9C%B0%E9%8E%AE%E7%A5%AD%E3%81%AE%E7%A5%AD%E5%A3%87.jpg|thumb|Groundbreaking ceremony in Tokyo () is a Shinto ritual in Japan. It takes place before construction starts on a new building. The ritual asks for permission from the jinushigami to use the land for building. It is a way to pray for safety during the construction. The contractor, who makes the building, pays for the celebration. This includes the and tamagushi offerings. The owner and other people involved help cover costs.

Japanese clan during the Yamato period

Futodama () or Futotama is a god in Japanese mythology, claimed to be the ancestor of Inbe clan, whose characteristics are believed to reflect the functions of the clan as court ritualists.

sacred mirrors used in Shinto