Shinto

==Beliefs==
==={{lang|ja-Latn|Kami}}===
{{Main|Kami}}
[[File:A man confronted with an apparition of the Fox goddess.jpg|thumb|An artistic depiction by [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi]] of the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} Inari appearing to a man]]
Shinto is [[polytheism|polytheistic]], involving the veneration of many deities known as {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}},{{sfnm|1a1=Littleton|1y=2002|1p=23|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=13}} or sometimes as {{lang|ja-Latn|jingi}} (神祇).{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=70|2a1=Hardacre|2y=2017|2p=31}} In Japanese, no distinction is made here between singular and plural, and hence the term {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} refers both to individual {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} and the collective group of {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd|1a2=Williams|1y=2005|1p=35|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=13}} Although lacking a direct English translation,{{sfn|Earhart|2004|p=8}} the term {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} has sometimes been rendered as "god" or "spirit".{{sfnm|1a1=Earhart|1y=2004|1p=2|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=13}} The historian of religion [[Joseph Kitagawa]] deemed these English translations "quite unsatisfactory and misleading",{{sfn|Kitagawa|1987|p=36}} and various scholars urge against translating {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} into English.{{sfnm|1a1=Offner|1y=1979|1p=194|2a1=Bocking|2y=1997|2p=84}} In Japanese, it is often said that there are [[Indefinite and fictitious numbers#Specific values used as indefinite|eight million]] {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}, a term which connotes an infinite number,{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1p=29|2a1=Littleton|2y=2002|2p=24}} and Shinto practitioners believe that they are present everywhere.{{sfn|Hardacre|2017|p=1}} They are not regarded as [[omnipotence|omnipotent]], [[omniscience|omniscient]], or necessarily [[immortality|immortal]].{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd|1a2=Williams|1y=2005|1p=35|2a1=Hardacre|2y=2017|2p=52}}

The term {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} is "conceptually fluid",{{sfn|Boyd|Williams|2005|p=35}} being "vague and imprecise".{{sfn|Offner|1979|p=194}} In Japanese it is often applied to the power of phenomena that inspire a sense of wonder and awe in the beholder.{{sfnm|1a1=Picken|1y=1994|1p=xxi|2a1=Boyd|2a2=Williams|2y=2005|2p=35}} Kitagawa referred to this as "the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} nature", stating that he thought it "somewhat analogous" to the Western ideas of the [[numinous]] and the [[sacred]].{{sfn|Kitagawa|1987|p=36}} {{lang|ja-Latn|Kami}} are seen to inhabit both the living and the dead, organic and inorganic matter, and natural disasters like earthquakes, droughts, and plagues;{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=13}} their presence is seen in natural forces such as the wind, rain, fire, and sunshine.{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=14}} Accordingly, Nelson commented that Shinto regards "the ''actual phenomena'' of the world itself" as being "divine".{{sfn|Nelson|1996|p=26}} This perspective has been characterised as being [[animism|animistic]].{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1p=7|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=40|3a1=Cali|3a2=Dougill|3y=2013|3p=13}}

In Japan, {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} have been venerated since prehistory.{{sfn|Hardacre|2017|p=1}} During the [[Yayoi period]] they were regarded as being formless and invisible,{{sfn|Hardacre|2017|p=19}} later coming to be depicted anthropomorphically under Buddhist influence.{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=180|2a1=Hardacre|2y=2017|2p=1}} Now, statues of the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} are known as {{lang|ja-Latn|shinzo}}.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=180}} {{lang|ja-Latn|Kami}} are usually associated with a specific place, often a prominent landscape feature such as a waterfall, mountain, large rock, or distinctive tree.{{sfnm|1a1=Littleton|1y=2002|1p=75|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=14}} Physical objects or places in which the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} are believed to have a presence are termed {{lang|ja-Latn|[[shintai]]}};{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=172}} objects inhabited by the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} that are placed in the shrine are known as {{lang|ja-Latn|go-shintai}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Offner|1y=1979|1p=202|2a1=Nelson|2y=1996|2p=144}} Objects commonly chosen for this purpose include mirrors, swords, stones, beads, and inscribed tablets.{{sfnm|1a1=Offner|1y=1979|1p=202|2a1=Earhart|2y=2004|2pp=36–37}} These {{lang|ja-Latn|go-shintai}} are concealed from the view of visitors,{{sfnm|1a1=Offner|1y=1979|1p=202|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=44}} and may be hidden inside boxes so that even the priests do not know what they look like.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=172}}

{{lang|ja-Latn|Kami}} are deemed capable of both benevolent and destructive deeds;{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1p=27|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=13}} if warnings about good conduct are ignored, the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} can mete out punishment, often illness or sudden death, called {{lang|ja-Latn|shinbatsu}}.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=164}} Some {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}, referred to as the {{lang|ja-Latn|magatsuhi-no-kami}} or {{lang|ja-Latn|araburu kami}}, are regarded as malevolent and destructive.{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=114|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=42}} Offerings and prayers are given to the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} to gain their blessings and to dissuade them from destructive actions.{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=13}} Shinto seeks to cultivate and ensure a harmonious relationship between humans and the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} and thus with the natural world.{{sfn|Earhart|2004|pp=7–8}} More localised {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} may be subject to feelings of intimacy and familiarity from members of the local community that are not directed towards more widespread {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} like Amaterasu.{{sfn|Nelson|1996|p=33}} The {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} of a particular community is referred to it as their {{lang|ja-Latn|ujigami}},{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1pp=214-215|2a1=Littleton|2y=2002|2p=24}} while that of a particular house is the {{lang|ja-Latn|yashikigami}}.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=222}}

[[File:Takeo Shrine Sacred tree.jpg|thumb|left|A 3000 year old sacred tree ([[shintai]]) of Takeo Shrine]]

{{lang|ja-Latn|Kami}} are not deemed [[metaphysics|metaphysically]] different from humanity,{{sfn|Boyd|Williams|2005|p=35}} with it being possible for humans to become {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}.{{sfn|Earhart|2004|p=8}} Dead humans are sometimes venerated as {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}, being regarded as protector or ancestral figures.{{sfnm|1a1=Littleton|1y=2002|1p=27|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=13|3a1=Hardacre|3y=2017|3p=1}} One of the most prominent examples is that of the [[Emperor Ōjin]], who on his death was enshrined as the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} [[Hachiman]], believed to be a protector of Japan and a {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} of war.{{sfnm|1a1=Littleton|1y=2002|1pp=31-32|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=14}} In Japanese culture, ancestors can be viewed as a form of {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}.{{sfn|Earhart|2004|p=10}} In Western Japan, the term {{lang|ja-Latn|[[jigami]]}} is used to describe the enshrined {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} of a village founder.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=69}} In some cases, living human beings were also viewed as {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}};{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=13}} these were called {{lang|ja-Latn|akitsumi kami}}{{sfn|Picken|2011|pp=35–36}} or {{lang|ja-Latn|arahito-gami}}.{{sfn|Picken|2011|p=42}} In the State Shinto system of the Meiji era, the emperor of Japan was declared to be a {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}},{{sfn|Earhart|2004|p=8}} while several Shinto sects have also viewed their leaders as living {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}.{{sfn|Earhart|2004|p=8}}

Although some {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} are venerated only in a single location, others have shrines across many areas.{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=15}} Hachiman for instance has around 25,000 shrines dedicated to him,{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=14}} while Inari has 40,000.{{sfn|Picken|2011|p=92}} The act of establishing a new shrine to a {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} who already has one is called {{lang|ja-Latn|[[bunrei]]}} ("dividing the spirit").{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=13|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=57|3a1=Cali|3a2=Dougill|3y=2013|3p=15}} As part of this, the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} is invited to enter a new place, with the instalment ceremony known as a {{lang|ja-Latn|[[kanjo]]}}.{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=15}} The new, subsidiary shrine is known as a {{lang|ja-Latn|bunsha}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=13|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=58}} Individual {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} are not believed to have their power diminished by their residence in multiple locations, and there is no limit on the number of places a {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} can be enshrined.{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=15}} In some periods, fees were charged for the right to enshrine a particular {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} in a new place.{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=15}} Shrines are not necessarily always designed as permanent structures.{{sfn|Hardacre|2017|p=1}}

Many {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} have messengers, known as {{lang|ja-Latn|kami no tsukai}} or {{lang|ja-Latn|tsuka washime}}, that generally take animal forms.{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=15}} Inari's messenger, for example, is a fox (''[[kitsune]]''),{{sfnm|1a1=Picken|1y=2011|1p=40|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=15}} while Hachiman's is a dove.{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=15}}
Shinto cosmology also includes spirits who cause malevolent acts, {{lang|ja-Latn|[[bakemono]]}}, a category including {{lang|ja-Latn|[[oni]]}}, {{lang|ja-Latn|[[tengu]]}}, {{lang|ja-Latn|[[Kappa (folklore)|kappa]]}}, {{lang|ja-Latn|[[mononoke]]}}, and {{lang|ja-Latn|[[Yama-uba|yamanba]]}}.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=8}} Japanese folklore also incorporates belief in the {{lang|ja-Latn|[[goryō]]}} or {{lang|ja-Latn|[[onryō]]}}, unquiet or vengeful spirits, particularly of those who died violently and without appropriate funerary rites.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=37}} These are believed to inflict suffering on the living, meaning that they must be pacified, usually through Buddhist rites but sometimes through enshrining them as a {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=37}} Other Japanese supernatural figures include the {{lang|ja-Latn|[[Bake-danuki|tanuki]]}}, animal-like creatures who can take human form.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=200}}

===Cosmogony===
{{Main|Amenominakanushi|Japanese creation myth}}
[[File:Kobayashi Izanami and Izanagi.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Izanami]]-no-Mikoto and [[Izanagi]]-no-Mikoto, by Kobayashi Eitaku, late 19th century]]

Although the narratives differ in detail,{{sfn|Hardacre|2017|pp=48–49}} the origin of the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} and of Japan itself are recounted in two 8th-century texts, {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Kojiki]]}} and {{Lang|ja-latn|Nihon Shoki}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Offner|1y=1979|1p=195|2a1=Kitagawa|2y=1987|2p=142|3a1=Littleton|3y=2002|3p=23|4a1=Earhart|4y=2004|4p=32|5a1=Cali|5a2=Dougill|5y=2013|5p=18}} Drawing heavily on Chinese influence,{{sfnm|1a1=Offner|1y=1979|1p=195|2a1=Kitagawa|2y=1987|2p=142|3a1=Littleton|3y=2002|3p=37|4a1=Earhart|4y=2004|4p=33}} these texts were commissioned by ruling elites to legitimize and consolidate their rule.{{sfnm|1a1=Earhart|1y=2004|1pp=33–34|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2pp=18–19}} Although never of great importance to Japanese religious life,{{sfn|Earhart|2004|p=33}} in the early 20th century the government proclaimed that their accounts were factual.{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=19}}

The {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}} recounts that the universe started with {{lang|ja-Latn|ame-tsuchi}}, the separation of light and pure elements ({{lang|ja-Latn|ame}}, "heaven") from heavy elements ({{lang|ja-Latn|tsuchi}}, "earth").{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=5|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=38|3a1=Cali|3a2=Dougill|3y=2013|3p=19}} Three {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} then appeared: [[Amenominakanushi]], [[Takamimusubi|Takamimusuhi no Mikoto]], and [[Kamimusubi|Kamimusuhi no Mikoto]]. Other {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} followed, including a brother and sister, [[Izanagi]] and [[Izanami]].{{sfnm|1a1=Cali|1a2=Dougill|1y=2013|1p=19|2a1=Hardacre|2y=2017|2p=48}} The {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} instructed Izanagi and Izanami to create land on earth. To this end, the siblings stirred the briny sea with a jewelled spear, from which [[Onogoro Island]] was formed.{{sfnm|1a1=Kitagawa|1y=1987|1p=143|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2pp=19–20|3a1=Hardacre|3y=2017|3p=49}} Izanagi and Izanami then descended to Earth, where the latter gave birth to further {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}. One of these was a fire {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}, whose birth killed Izanami.{{sfnm|1a1=Kitagawa|1y=1987|1p=143|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=20|3a1=Hardacre|3y=2017|3p=50}} Izanagi descended to {{lang|ja-Latn|[[yomi]]}} to retrieve his sister, but there he saw her body putrefying. Embarrassed to be seen in this state, she chased him out of {{lang|ja-Latn|yomi}}, and he closed its entrance with a boulder.{{sfnm|1a1=Kitagawa|1y=1987|1p=143|2a1=Bocking|2y=1997|2p=67|3a1=Cali|3a2=Dougill|3y=2013|3p=20|4a1=Hardacre|4y=2017|4p=50}}

Izanagi bathed in the sea to rid himself from the pollution brought about by witnessing Izanami's putrefaction. Through this act, further {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} emerged from his body: [[Amaterasu]] (the sun {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}) was born from his left eye, [[Tsukuyomi]] (the moon {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}) from his right eye, and [[Susanoo]] (the storm {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}) from his nose.{{sfnm|1a1=Offner|1y=1979|1p=196|2a1=Kitagawa|2y=1987|2p=143|3a1=Bocking|3y=1997|3p=67|4a1=Cali|4a2=Dougill|4y=2013|4p=20|5a1=Hardacre|5y=2017|5p=53}} Susanoo behaved in a destructive manner, to escape him Amaterasu hid herself within a cave, plunging the earth into darkness. The other {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} eventually succeeded in coaxing her out.{{sfnm|1a1=Offner|1y=1979|1pp=196–197|2a1=Kitagawa|2y=1987|2p=144|3a1=Bocking|3y=1997|3p=3|4a1=Cali|4a2=Dougill|4y=2013|4p=21|5a1=Hardacre|5y=2017|5pp=53-54}} Susanoo was then banished to earth, where he married and had children.{{sfnm|1a1=Cali|1a2=Dougill|1y=2013|1p=22|2a1=Hardacre|2y=2017|2p=54}} According to the {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}}, Amaterasu then sent her grandson, [[Ninigi]], to rule Japan, giving him curved beads, a mirror, and a sword: the symbols of Japanese imperial authority.{{sfnm|1a1=Kitagawa|1y=1987|1p=144|2a1=Hardacre|2y=2017|2p=57}} Amaterasu remains probably Japan's most venerated {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}.{{sfn|Littleton|2002|p=98}}

===Cosmology and afterlife===
In Shinto, the creative principle permeating all life is known as {{lang|ja-Latn|musubi}}, and is associated with its own {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=129|2a1=Boyd|2a2=Williams|2y=2005|2p=34}} Within traditional Japanese thought, there is no concept of an overarching duality between good and evil.{{sfnm|1a1=Littleton|1y=2002|1p=26|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=36}} The concept of {{lang|ja-Latn|aki}} encompasses misfortune, unhappiness, and disaster, although it does not correspond precisely with the Western concept of evil.{{sfn|Picken|2011|p=36}} There is no [[eschatology]] in Shinto.{{sfn|Picken|2011|p=71}} Texts such as the {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}} and {{Lang|ja-latn|Nihon Shoki}} portray multiple realms in Shinto cosmology.{{sfn|Doerner|1977|pp=153–154}} These present a universe divided into three parts: the Plane of High Heaven ({{lang|ja-Latn|[[Takamagahara|Takama-no-hara]]}}), where the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} live; the Phenomenal or Manifested World ({{lang|ja-Latn|[[Ashihara no Nakatsukuni|Utsushi-yo]]}}), where humans dwell; and the Nether World ({{lang|ja-Latn|Yomotsu-kuni}}), where unclean spirits reside.{{sfnm|1a1=Kitagawa|1y=1987|1p=143|2a1=Bocking|2y=1997|2p=216}} The mythological texts nevertheless do not draw firm demarcations between these realms.{{sfn|Kitagawa|1987|p=143}}

Modern Shinto places greater emphasis on this life than on any afterlife,{{sfnm|1a1=Doerner|1y=1977|1p=153|2a1=Littleton|2y=2002|2p=90}} although it does espouse belief in a human spirit or soul, the {{lang|ja-Latn|mitama}} or {{lang|ja-Latn|tamashii}}, which contains four aspects.{{sfn|Hardacre|2017|p=75}} While indigenous ideas about an afterlife were probably well-developed prior to Buddhism's arrival,{{sfn|Littleton|2002|p=90}} contemporary Japanese people often adopt Buddhist afterlife beliefs.{{sfn|Littleton|2002|p=89}}
Mythological stories like the {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}} describe {{lang|ja-Latn|yomi}} or {{lang|ja-Latn|yomi-no-kuni}} as a realm of the dead,{{sfnm|1a1=Littleton|1y=2002|1p=90|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=71}} although this plays no role in modern Shinto.{{sfn|Littleton|2002|p=90}} Modern Shinto ideas about the afterlife largely revolve around the idea that the spirit survives bodily death and continues to assist the living. After 33 years, it then becomes part of the family {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}.{{sfn|Littleton|2002|pp=89-91}} These ancestral spirits are sometimes thought to reside in the mountains,{{sfnm|1a1=Littleton|1y=2002|1p=91|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=39}} from where they descend to take part in agricultural events.{{sfn|Picken|2011|p=39}} Shinto's afterlife beliefs also include the {{lang|ja-Latn|obake}}, restless spirits who died in bad circumstances and often seek revenge.{{sfn|Littleton|2002|p=92}}

===Purity and impurity===
A key theme in Shinto is the avoidance of {{lang|ja-Latn|[[kegare]]}} ("pollution" or "impurity"),{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=93|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=20}} while ensuring {{lang|ja-Latn|[[harae]]}} ("purity").{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1p=101|2a1=Bocking|2y=1997|2p=45|3a1=Cali|3a2=Dougill|3y=2013|3p=21}} In Japanese thought, humans are seen as fundamentally pure.{{sfn|Picken|2011|pp=45, 82}} {{lang|ja-Latn|Kegare}} is therefore seen as being a temporary condition that can be corrected through achieving {{lang|ja-Latn|harae}}.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=93}} Rites of purification are conducted so as to restore an individual to "spiritual" health and render them useful to society.{{sfn|Nelson|1996|p=102}}

[[File:Karasuzumo purification ritual.jpg|thumb|left|Shinto purification rite after a ceremonial children's [[sumo]] tournament at the [[Kamigamo Jinja]] in [[Kyoto]]]]
This notion of purity is present in many facets of Japanese culture, such as the focus it places on bathing.{{sfn|Nelson|1996|p=38}} Purification is for instance regarded as important in preparation for the planting season,{{sfn|Nelson|1996|p=63}} while performers of {{lang|ja-Latn|[[noh]]}} theatre undergo a purification rite before they carry out their performances.{{sfn|Picken|2011|p=7}} Among the things regarded as particular pollutants in Shinto are death, disease, witchcraft, the flaying alive of an animal, incest, bestiality, excrement, and blood associated with either menstruation or childbirth.{{sfnm|1a1=Offner|1y=1979|1p=206|2a1=Nelson|2y=1996|2p=104}} To avoid {{lang|ja-Latn|kegare}}, priests and other practitioners may engage in abstinence and avoid various activities prior to a festival or ritual.{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=93|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=86}}
Various words, termed {{lang|ja-Latn|imi-kotoba}}, are also regarded as taboo, and people avoid speaking them when at a shrine; these include {{lang|ja-Latn|shi}} (death), {{lang|ja-Latn|byō}} (illness), and {{lang|ja-Latn|shishi}} (meat).{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=58}}

A purification ceremony known as {{lang|ja-Latn|misogi}} involves the use of fresh water, salt water, or salt to remove {{lang|ja-Latn|kegare}}.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=124}} Full immersion in the sea is often regarded as the most ancient and efficacious form of purification.{{sfn|Nelson|1996|p=140}} This act links with the mythological tale in which Izanagi immersed himself in the sea to purify himself after discovering his deceased wife; it was from this act that other {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} sprang from his body.{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1p=141|2a1=Bocking|2y=1997|2p=124}} An alternative is immersion beneath a waterfall.{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=124|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=45}} Salt is often regarded as a purifying substance;{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1p=141|2a1=Earhart|2y=2004|2p=11}} some Shinto practitioners will for instance sprinkle salt on themselves after a funeral,{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1pp=141–142|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=70}} while those running restaurants may put a small pile of salt outside before business commences each day.{{sfn|Picken|2011|p=6}} Fire, also, is perceived as a source of purification.{{sfn|Earhart|2004|p=11}} The {{lang|ja-Latn|yaku-barai}} is a form of harae designed to prevent misfortune,{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=219}} while the {{lang|ja-Latn|oharae}}, or "ceremony of great purification", is often used for end-of-year purification rites, and is conducted twice a year at many shrines.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=136}} Before the Meiji period, rites of purification were generally performed by {{lang|ja-Latn|[[onmyōji]]}}, a type of diviner whose practices derived from the Chinese [[yin and yang]] philosophy.{{sfn|Breen|Teeuwen|2010|p=12}}

===''Kannagara'', morality, and ethics===

[[File:Yasukuni Shrine 2012.JPG|thumb|The actions of priests at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo have generated controversy across East Asia]]

Shinto incorporates morality tales and myths but no codified ethical doctrine,{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=13}} and thus no "unified, systematized code of behaviour".{{sfn|Offner|1979|p=191}} An ethical system nevertheless arises from its practice,{{sfn|Picken|2011|pp=80-81}} with emphasis placed on sincerity ({{lang|ja-Latn|makoto}}),{{sfnm|1a1=Picken|1y=1994|1p=xxiii|2a1=Bocking|2y=1997|2p=115|3a1=Picken|3y=2011|3p=82}} honesty ({{lang|ja-Latn|tadashii}}),{{sfn|Picken|1994|p=xxiii}} hard work ({{lang|ja-Latn|tsui-shin}}),{{sfn|Picken|2011|p=83}} and thanksgiving ({{lang|ja-Latn|kansha}}) directed towards the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}.{{sfn|Picken|2011|p=83}} {{lang|ja-Latn|Shojiki}} is regarded as a virtue, encompassing honesty, uprightness, veracity, and frankness.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=182}} Shinto sometimes includes reference to four virtues known as the {{lang|ja-Latn|akaki kiyoki kokoro}} or {{lang|ja-Latn|sei-mei-shin}}, meaning "purity and cheerfulness of heart", which are linked to the state of {{lang|ja-Latn|harae}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=157|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2pp=34, 82}} Attitudes to sex and fertility tend to be forthright in Shinto.{{sfn|Picken|2011|pp=84-85}} Shinto's flexibility regarding morality and ethics has been a source of frequent criticism, especially from those arguing that the religion can readily become a pawn for those wishing to use it to legitimise their authority and power.{{sfn|Nelson|1996|p=198}}

In Shinto, {{lang|ja-Latn|kannagara}} ("way of the {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}}") is the law of the [[cosmos|natural order]],{{sfn|Picken|1994|p=xxiii}} with {{lang|ja-Latn|wa}} ("benign harmony") being inherent in all things.{{sfn|Littleton|2002|p=58}} Disrupting {{lang|ja-Latn|wa}} is deemed bad, contributing to it is thought good;{{sfn|Littleton|2002|pp=58, 61}} as such, subordination of the individual to the larger social unit has long been a characteristic of the religion.{{sfn|Littleton|2002|pp=11, 57}} Throughout Japanese history, the notion of {{lang|ja-Latn|saisei-itchi}}, or the union of religious authority and political authority, has long been prominent.{{sfn|Kitagawa|1987|p=xvii}} In the modern world, Shinto has tended toward conservatism,{{sfn|Cali|Dougill|2013|p=10}} as well as nationalism,{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=ix|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=10}} an association that results in various Japanese [[civil liberties]] groups and neighboring countries regarding Shinto suspiciously.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=ix}} Particularly controversial has been the [[Yasukuni Shrine]] in Tokyo, devoted to Japan's war dead. In 1979 it enshrined 14 men who had been declared Class-A defendants at the 1946 [[Tokyo War Crimes Trials]], generating domestic and international condemnation, particularly from China and Korea.{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=2000|1p=12|2a1=Littleton|2y=2002|2p=99|3a1=Picken|3y=2011|3pp=18–19}}

[[File:Hushimi-inari-taisha otsuka3.jpg|thumb|left|Assemblage of small ''torii'' at the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine in Kyoto]]

Shinto priests face ethical conundrums. In the 1980s, for instance, priests at the [[Suwa Shrine (Nagasaki)|Suwa Shrine]] in [[Nagasaki]] debated whether to invite the crew of a U.S. Navy vessel docked at the port city to their festival celebrations given the sensitivities surrounding the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki#Nagasaki|1945 U.S. use of the atomic bomb on the city]].{{sfn|Nelson|1996|pp=66–67}} In other cases, priests have opposed construction projects on shrine-owned land;{{sfnm|1a1=Ueda|1y=1979|1p=317|2a1=Rots|2y=2015|2p=221}} at [[Kaminoseki]] in the early 2000s, a priest was pressured to resign after opposing the sale of shrine lands to build a [[nuclear power plant]].{{sfn|Rots|2015|p=221}} 
In the 21st century, Shinto has increasingly been portrayed as a nature-centred spirituality with [[environmentalism|environmentalist]] credentials;{{sfn|Rots|2015|pp=205, 207}} several shrines have collaborated with local environmentalist campaigns,{{sfn|Rots|2015|p=223}} while an international interfaith conference on environmental sustainability was held at the Ise shrine in 2014.{{sfn|Rots|2015|pp=205–206}} Critical commentators have characterised the presentation of Shinto as an environmentalist movement as a rhetorical ploy rather than a concerted effort by Shinto institutions to become environmentally sustainable.{{sfn|Rots|2015|p=208}}