What is Shintoism?
Shinto means "the way of kami". Kami are gods, or spirits. Shintoism is a pure Japanese religion, and is one of the world's oldest religion. Shintoism had no founder, or any scriptures of some sort. Shintoism became an important religion through the writings and teachings of 18th century scholars.
Shintos create shrines to worship kami. These shrines can be at natural places, called mori. Other shrines are usually buildings or in homes. There are over 80,000 public shrines in Japan. |