In Shintoism, gods, or Kami are greatly honored and respected. They are the spirits that could be anything in general, and have 5 characteristics: Kami can either of these 2 minds: to love and assist, or to destroy. Kami are not visible to the human eye, and they dwell in natural and sacred areas. Kami would visit their shrines, or places of worship. There is great diversity on the variety of Kami, with over 300 varieties. Kami would have a different care for each individual, just like the different offerings people present to the Kami to make them happy.
The earliest Kami were usually nature-based, and people would worship the gods of the earth, such as mountains and oceans. The most worshipped and important kami is Amaterasu, the sun goddess. Amaterasu was claimed to be born from the left eye socket of Izanagi, when his mate Izanami died giving birth to the fire kami. Izanagi then did a purification ritual, leading to the birth of Amaterasu. Izanagi and Izanami were the original kami. Amaterasu is very well associated with Japan as well, with Japan being “Land of the rising Sun”, as the Sun, a symbol of Amaterasu, appears on the Japanese flag.
In Shintoism, the basis is to honor kami and your ancestors. To honor these spirits, Shintos would create or go to shrines to perform their rituals. Shinto also care and love their world, and the people alongside it. There are 3 types of Shintoism in Japan: Shrine Shinto, Sectarian Shinto (13 sects in shintoism) and Folk shinto. Many Shintos are also buddhists, since Shintoism is similar to Confucianism and Buddhism. Most Shinto shrines can be recoginzed by a tori, a gate or arch at the entrance of each shrine. The tori separates a sacred area from the world.
List of Major Kami
Amaterasu- Sun Goddess
Uzume- Dawn and revelry Goddess
Fujin- God of wind
Hachiman- God of War
Inari- God/Goddess of rice and fertility
Izanagi- Father of all gods / first male
Izanami- Goddess of creation and death / first female