Shinto

Shinto is the native religion of Japan. According to Shinto mythology, deities created Japan and its people. Until the mid-1900's, the Japanese worshiped their emperor as a direct descendant of Amaterasu-Omikami, the sun goddess and most important Shinto deity.

Shinto developed from native folk beliefs. Followers worship spirits and demons that live in animals and in mountains, trees, and other parts of nature. In early Japanese history, Shinto was devoted chiefly to this form of nature worship. Beginning in the A.D.500's, Buddhism influenced the development of Shinto. Confucianism became influential in the A.D.600's. Both of these religions helped shape Shinto rituals and doctrines. Buddhist and Shinto services have occasionally been held in the same temples. But unlike Buddhism, Shinto never developed strong doctrines on either salvation or life after death.

During the late 1800's, the Japanese government sponsored a form of Shinto called State Shinto. State Shinto stressed patriotic religious ceremonies and the divine origins of the emperor. In 1882, the government officially separated Shinto into State Shinto and Sectarian Shinto. The government administered State Shinto. Sectarian Shinto was popular among the common people. After World War II, the government abolished State Shinto and the doctrine of a divine emperor.

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