"Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion."
A look at the cosmology and mythology of Shintoism, including creation myths, tales of the gods and their exploits, and the role of nature in the religion.
Big Bang Theory: This theory explains the origin of the universe and how it started expanding from a single point.
Dark Matter and Dark Energy: These are mysterious substances that are believed to make up most of the universe and play a significant role in its evolution.
The Expansion of the Universe: The universe is expanding, and this has been observed and measured through various methods.
The Formation of Galaxies: Galaxies are large systems of stars, gas, and dust that form through gravity and other forces.
Black Holes: These are regions in space with such intense gravity that nothing, not even light, can escape them.
The Multiverse: This theory suggests that the universe may be one of many universes existing in parallel.
Cosmic Background Radiation: This radiation is leftover after the Big Bang and provides crucial insights into the early universe's conditions.
Inflation Theory: This theory explains how the universe rapidly expanded from a minuscule point to its current size.
The Cosmic Microwave Background: This is the radiation that filled the universe after the Big Bang and is one of the pieces of evidence that support the Big Bang Theory.
Kami: These are the spirits or deities in Shintoism that inhabit everything in nature and the universe.
Izanagi and Izanami: These are the deities who were believed to have created the islands of Japan, and all living beings descended from them.
Amaterasu: The sun goddess and one of the most important deities in Shintoism, believed to be the ancestor of the Japanese imperial family.
The Three Treasures: These are three items that symbolize the authority of the Japanese emperor and are considered a cornerstone of Japanese mythology.
Misogi: This is a common Shinto purification ritual that involves standing under a waterfall to cleanse oneself of impurities.
Kagura: This is a traditional Shinto dance performed to honor the deities and express gratitude for blessings received.
Torii Gates: These are the iconic gates that mark the entrance of Shinto shrines and symbolize the transition from the mundane world to the sacred space of the deities.
Shimenawa: This is a sacred rope made of rice straw that is hung around objects or places to signify their connection to the deities.
Omamori: These are small amulets that are sold at Shinto shrines and believed to provide good luck and ward off evil.
Shrine Shinto: This is the most common form of Shinto and is characterized by the worship of kami at local shrines. It is a community-based religion that is focused on the spirit of the local community, its history, and its culture.
Sectarian Shinto: This is a more organized form of Shintoism that is practiced by specialized organizations, such as Tenrikyo, Konkokyo, and Omoto. These organizations have their own unique beliefs and practices, but they all share the central belief in kami.
"Scholars sometimes call its practitioners Shintoists, although adherents rarely use that term themselves."
"There is no central authority in control of Shinto, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners."
"Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the kami."
"The kami are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations."
"The kami are worshipped at kamidana household shrines, family shrines, and jinja public shrines."
"The latter are staffed by priests, known as kannushi, who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific kami enshrined at that location."
"This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and kami and to solicit the latter's blessing."
"Other common rituals include the kagura dances, rites of passage, and seasonal festivals."
"Public shrines facilitate forms of divination and supply religious objects, such as amulets, to the religion's adherents."
"Shinto places a major conceptual focus on ensuring purity, largely by cleaning practices such as ritual washing and bathing, especially before worship."
"Little emphasis is placed on specific moral codes or particular afterlife beliefs, although the dead are deemed capable of becoming kami."
"The religion has no single creator or specific doctrine, and instead exists in a diverse range of local and regional forms."
"Although historians debate at what point it is suitable to refer to Shinto as a distinct religion, kami veneration has been traced back to Japan's Yayoi period (300 BCE to 300 CE)."
"Religious syncretization made kami worship and Buddhism functionally inseparable, a process called shinbutsu-shūgō."
"The earliest written tradition regarding kami worship was recorded in the 8th-century Kojiki and Nihon Shoki."
"During the Meiji era (1868 to 1912), Japan's nationalist leadership expelled Buddhist influence from kami worship and formed State Shinto, which some historians regard as the origin of Shinto as a distinct religion."
"Shinto is primarily found in Japan, where there are around 100,000 public shrines."
"Numerically, it is Japan's largest religion, the second being Buddhism."
"Most of the country's population takes part in both Shinto and Buddhist activities, especially festivals, reflecting a common view in Japanese culture that the beliefs and practices of different religions need not be exclusive."