Founder

Belief in Kami

• Kami are any people or things that have evoked the wonder of the Japanese.

• Kami include deities and certain human beings.

• All human life and human nature is sacred because all of humanity is regarded as "Kami's child".

• Believers revere "musuhi", the Kamis' creative and harmonizing powers. 

• Animals are respected as messengers of the Gods.

Four Forms of Shinto:

• Involves rituals performed by the emperor.
• Niinamesai is the most important ritual.
• Offers the first fruits of the year's grain harvest to the deities.

• The largest group
• The original form of the religion
• Includes 80,000 shrines.

3. KYOHA  (Sectarian) Shinto:

• Has thirteen different sects
• Each has their own doctrines and beliefs 
• Most emphasize worship of their own central deity
• Some follow a near monotheistic religion.

• Is not a different form of Shinto
• Found in rural practices and rituals

OTHER BELIEFS

• Very tolerant of other religions
• Finds validity in all religions
• Shinto has no moral code
• Most believers follow the code of Confucianism.
• Purification is greatly stressed in Shinto.
• Humans are thought to be born with a divine essence
• They are descendents of the original deities
• Purification is needed to allow the light of this essence to shine through
• Ancestors are deeply revered and worshiped.

There are "Four Affirmations"in Shinto:

• Tradition and the family: The family is seen as the main mechanism by which traditions are preserved. Their main celebrations relate to birth and marriage.
• Love of nature: Nature is sacred; to be in contact with nature is to be close to the Gods. Natural objects are worshipped as sacred spirits.
• Physical cleanliness: Followers of Shinto take baths, wash their hands, and rinse out their mouth often.
• "Matsuri": The worship and honor given to the Kami and ancestral spirits.

• Worship is simple and daily
• Family members must wash their hands and feet to purify themselves.
• Central worship point in a home
• Shinto recognizes many sacred places
• Each shrine is dedicated to a specific KAMI
• Each has a divine personality 
• Each responds to prayers of the faithful and sincere

Faithful believers pass through the TORI when entering a Shinto shrine

• This is a special gateway for the Gods. 
• Separates the finite and infinite worlds 
• Ancestors washed entire body in in nearby rivers
• Believers wash only hands and mouth in basins on Shrine grounds today

Mamori are charms worn for healing and protection.

Kagura are ritual dances accompanied by ancient musical instruments. 

• Dancers are highly skilled and trained
• Usually young virgin girls,  a group of men, or a single man.

Origami are often seen around Shinto shrines

• Origami paper is never cut out of respect for the tree spirit that gave its life to make the paper.

Shichigosan Matsuri 

• Girls age 3 and 7, and Boys at age 5 participate in
• This is a ritual that includes a blessing by the shrine Priest.
• It is held on November 15th.

Amaterasu

• In October and November
• Festivals celebrate the new rice harvest

The Great Purification

• Performed in June and December of each year
•  A priest waves a cleansing wand over the people to purify them
• People rub themselves with paper dolls
• This transfers any impurities from themselves to the dolls
• Dolls are then disposed of by the priest.

The Festival of the New Year

• The most spectacular annual festival
• Begins January 1st and lasts several days
• January 7th marks the beginning of the New Year
• There is a  return to ordinary life.