About two months ago, Hirotada Kasannoin shaved his stubbly beard, swapped his business suit for a white kimono, and became the chief priest of Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara. "I'm learning about Shinto ritual services one by one, as there are many special facets of decorum peculiar to Kasuga Taisha. I feel a powerful sense of history handed down from our predecessors," he said.

via yomiuri.co.jp

These texts set out the traditional story of the foundation of Japan and its people, and demonstrate the very close relationship between the gods and the people of Japan. The stories also demonstrate many parallels between human beings and the kami. The foundation of Japan This part of the story makes the following points: * Japan was the first land to be created * Sexual union is a holy creative process * If certain rituals are not properly followed bad things may happen * If the natural order of things is disturbed bad things may happen.

via bbc.co.uk

Shinto(神道) is the native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. It involves the worship of kami (神), gods. Some kami are local and can be regarded as the spiritual being/spirit or genius of a particular place, but others represent major natural objects and processes: for example, Amaterasu, the Sun goddess, or Mount Fuji. Shinto is an animistic belief system. The word Shinto was created by combining two kanji: "神" (shin), meaning gods or spirits (when read alone, it is pronounced "kami"), and "道" (tō), meaning a philosophical way or path (originally from the Chinese character Tao). As such, Shinto is commonly translated as "the Way of the Gods".

 
A torii at Itsukushima ShrineAfter World War II, Shinto lost its status as the state religion of Japan; some Shinto practices and teachings, once given a great deal of prominence during the war, are no longer taught or practiced today, and others exist today as commonplace activities such as omikuji (a form of fortune-telling) and Japanese New Year that few give religious connotations. Important national ceremonies such as coronations and royal marriages are conducted at the Three Palace Sanctuaries in Tokyo, and many Japanese still travel at least once in their lives to the Grand Shrine of Ise in Mie Prefecture.

 

via