![]() īecause the Japanese rulers were enamored with Buddhism, the Shinto priests did a very clever thing. Actually, the term Shinto was coined to distinguish it from the Chinese religions, such as Taoism and Confuism. Many Buddhists viewed the kami as manifestations of Buddha. The introduction into Japan of Buddhism in the 6th century was followed by a few initial conflicts, however, the two religions were soon able to co-exist and even complement each other. The Goddess Amaterasu is widely considered to be Shinto's most famous kami and she was even the star of her very own video game, Ōkami. Humans become kami after they die and are honored as ancestral kami with some families actually having little shrines in their homes. As such, Shinto is similar to primal Shamanism. They take the form of many things such as animals, plants, lakes, and rivers. Kami (sacred spirits) are the "gods" in Shinto. The Sun Goddess Amaterasu is considered Shinto's most important kami. The kami of extraordinary people are even enshrined at some shrines. Humans become kami after they die and are revered by their families as ancestral kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Propaganda and preaching are not common either, because Shinto is deeply rooted in the Japanese people and traditions. Shinto does not have a founder nor does it have sacred scriptures like the sutras or the Bible. Shinto has 81,000 shrines and 85,000 priests in Japan. This is because "Shinto" has different meanings in Japan: most of the Japanese attend Shinto shrines and beseech kami without belonging to an institutional "Shinto" religion, and since there are no formal rituals to become a member of "folk Shinto", "Shinto membership" is often estimated counting those who join organized Shinto sects. There are approximately 150 million followers of Shintoism Worldwide, yet only a small percentage of these (about 4 to 5 million people) identify themselves as "Shintoists" in surveys. ![]() Shinto is the largest religion in Japan, practiced by nearly 80% of the population. Taoic influence is significant in their beliefs about nature and self-mastery. Shinto practitioners commonly affirm tradition, family, nature, cleanliness and ritual observation as core values. Japanese Buddhism is deeply intertwined with the Shinto faith. Many Japanese Shintoists also identify themselves as Buddhists. Shinto literally means " the way of the gods". Shinto is an animistic (everything has a soul) folk religion from Japan. Shinto ("the way of the gods") is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people and as old as Japan itself.
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