Sect Shinto is slightly different in character from other Shinto religions. This is a type of belief putting an emphasis on the implementation of religious services and ceremonies, mainly by shrines and other organs consisting of Ujiko (shrine parishioners) and revering persons.Ī religion based on religious experiences of a founder or originator of the sect. It is Shinto for the Imperial Court that is, the Imperial family, centered on the Three Shrines in the Imperial Palace. The following are denominations of shinto religion. Shinto is supported by approximately 16 million people in Japan (Agency for Cultural Affairs' 'Shukyo Nenkan') and there are approximately 85,000 recorded shrines. There is a big difference between Shinto and Buddhism, and while people have believed in Shinto for the purpose of having Kami (God) protect communities (tribes and villages) connected by territorial and blood ties, like Kami (God)s do in mythologies, people have believed in Buddhism for the purpose of securing individuals' Anjin-ryomyo (spiritual peace and enlightenment) and have their souls relieved and keep the state's peace and security. As compared with other religions, shinto religion is more inclined to secularism and belief in the innate goodness of man and seems to have a characteristic that a strong sense of solidarity has been built up between an enshrined subject (Kami (God)) and worshipers (believers). The type of virtue practiced in Shinto religion is Jyomyoseichoku (clean and clear, cheerful, honest, and straightforward).

According to Shinto's idea, the Kami (Shinto) exists in Shinrabansho (all things in nature, the whole creation) and religious services are considered important, with Amatsu Kami (god of heaven), KunitsuKami (gods of the land), and Sorei (ancestral spirit, collective of ancestral spirits that have lost their individualities, ancestors deified as Kami, spirit of a Kami) enshrined. Shinto has neither a specific creed nor specific scriptures, and Japanese classics such as 'Kojiki' (the Records of Ancient Matters), 'Nihonshoki' (Chronicles of Japan), 'Kogo-shui' (History of the Inbe clan) and 'imperial edict,' which are called 'Shinten,' are norms. Shinto is based on traditional ethnic and natural beliefs that naturally generated and grew among ethnic groups living in Japan and has been gradually growing in conjunction with central and local systems of politics carried out by groups of local ruling families. Shinto is a religion originating in particular cultural traditions that have been believed since ancient Japan. Shinto (or Kannagara no michi) is an ethnical religious framework in Japan and a polytheistic religion that is unique to Japan.

Kami in japanese means