What is the Shinto religion?

I heard about it today. It's primarily practiced in Japan right? Can someone elaborate on it?

The main Japanese religion.

Shinto is a native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. It is a form of animism. It involves the worship of Jami, which can be translated to mean "sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility". Some Jami are local and can be regarded as the spirit or genius of a particular place, but others represent major natural objects and processes, for example, Amaterasu, the Sun goddess. The word Shinto was created by combining two ganja: "?" shin, meaning gods or spirits (the character can also be read as "Jami" in Japanese), and "?" t? meaning "way" or "path" in a philosophical sense (the same character is used for the Chinese word Tao). As such, Shinto is commonly translated as "the Way of the Gods".


A tor ii at Itsukushima ShrineAfter World War II, Shinto lost its status of state religion; some Shinto practices and teachings, once given a great deal of prominence during the war, are no longer taught nor practiced today, and others remain largely as everyday activities, like OmskFJoi form of drawing lots) and Japanese New Year, that few identify with religious connotations.

Yes, in japan. I lived there for 2 years. It's a belief in nature and ancestors. The Japanese are not religious at all and have blended this religion with aspects of other religions. They don't view it as religion,but as tradition. They do certain rituals just for this reason, not for blessings,money,or problems as in western religion. They do portray an enemas amount of respect for nature, themselves, and others without the constant judgment, shame, or fear of damnation that comes with judo-christian religions. Hope this helps