Shinto

At the centre of Shinto are the kami (神): gods, spirits, and sacred forces that dwell in nature and in remarkable things: a mountain, a waterfall, an ancient tree, the wind, the harvest, a great ancestor. There are said to be yaoyorozu no kami (八百万の神), "eight million gods," a poetic way of saying they are beyond counting. Shinto is concerned above all with purity, gratitude, and harmony with these presences: keeping the pollution of death and disorder at bay, giving thanks, and living in right relation with the natural and communal world. It coexists comfortably with Buddhism, and most Japanese take part in both: a Shinto blessing for a birth, a Buddhist rite for a funeral.

Shinto's public life happens at the shrine (神社, jinja), the dwelling of a kami, marked by a torii gate at its threshold. A typical visit is simple: pass through the gate, rinse your hands and mouth at the water basin to purify yourself, approach the offering hall, toss a coin, bow twice, clap twice, pray, and bow once more. Priests perform purification rites and seasonal ceremonies; communities hold matsuri festivals in a kami's honour; families visit at New Year and for the milestones of life. Much of Shinto is not doctrine but gesture: the bow, the clap, the cleansing water, the offering.