Kami

== Ceremonies and festivals ==
One of the first recorded rituals we know of is {{Nihongo|[[Niiname-sai]]|新嘗祭}},<ref name="Ohnuki-Tierney" /> the ceremony in which the [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] offers newly harvested rice to the ''kami'' to secure their blessing for a bountiful harvest. A yearly festival, Niiname-sai, is also performed when a new Emperor [[Enthronement of the Japanese Emperor|comes to power]], in which case it is called {{Nihongo|Daijō-sai|大嘗祭}}. In the ceremony, the Emperor offers crops from the new harvest to the ''kami'', including rice, fish, fruits, soup, and stew. The Emperor first feasts with the deities, then the guests. The feast could go on for some time; for example, [[Hirohito|Emperor Shōwa]]'s feast spanned two days.<ref name="Ohnuki-Tierney" />

[[File:Itsukushima Shinto Shrine.jpg|right|thumb|514x514px|[[Itsukushima Shrine|Itsukushima Shinto Shrine]], [[Miyajima Island]], [[Hiroshima Prefecture]], Japan. This shrine is believed to be where the ''kami'' dwell, and hosts many ceremonies and festivals.]]

Visitors to a [[Shinto shrine]] follow a purification ritual before presenting themselves to the ''kami''. This ritual begins with hand washing and swallowing and later spitting a small amount of water in front of the shrine to purify the body, heart, and mind. Once this is complete they turn their focus to gaining the ''kami's'' attention. The traditional method of doing this is to bow twice, clap twice and bow again, alerting the ''kami'' to their presence and desire to commune with them. During the last bow, the supplicant offers words of gratitude and praise to the ''kami''; if they are offering a prayer for aid they will also state their name and address. After the prayer and/or worship they repeat the two bows, two claps and a final bow in conclusion.<ref name="Yamakage" />{{rp|197}}

Shinto practitioners also worship at home. This is done at a ''[[kamidana]]'' (household shrine), on which an ''[[ofuda]]'' with the name of their protector or ancestral ''kami'' is positioned. Their protector ''kami'' is determined by their or their ancestors' relationship to the ''kami''.<ref name="Yamakage" />{{rp|28, 84}}

Ascetic practices, shrine rituals and ceremonies, and [[Japanese festivals]] are the most public ways that Shinto devotees celebrate and offer adoration for the ''kami''. ''Kami'' are celebrated during their distinct festivals that usually take place at the shrines dedicated to their worship. Many festivals involve believers, who are usually intoxicated, parading, sometimes running, toward the shrine while carrying [[mikoshi]] (portable shrines) as the community gathers for the festival ceremony. Yamamoto Guji, the high priest at the [[Tsubaki Grand Shrine]], explains that this practice honors the ''kami'' because "it is in the festival, the matsuri, the greatest celebration of life can be seen in the world of Shinto and it is the people of the community who attend festivals as groups, as a whole village who are seeking to unlock the human potential as children of kami".<ref name="Boyd" /> During the New Year Festival, families purify and clean their houses in preparation for the upcoming year. Offerings are also made to the ancestors so that they will bless the family in the future year.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}}

Shinto ceremonies are so long and complex that in some shrines it can take ten years for the priests to learn them.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shinto/Ritual-practices-and-institutions|title=Shintō – Ritual practices and institutions|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-11-26|language=en}}</ref> The priesthood was traditionally hereditary. Some shrines have drawn their priests from the same families for over a hundred generations.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/540847/shinshoku |title=Shinshoku |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |date=1998-07-20 |access-date=2017-01-01}}</ref> It is not uncommon for the clergy to be female priestesses.<ref name="Britannica" /> The priests (''[[kannushi]]'') may be assisted by ''[[miko]]'', young unmarried women acting as shrine maidens.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cla.calpoly.edu/~bmori/syll/Hum310japan/Shinto.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730131745/http://cla.calpoly.edu/~bmori/syll/Hum310japan/Shinto.html |archive-date=2013-07-30 |title=Shinto – The Way of the Gods |access-date=2017-05-02}}</ref> Neither priests nor priestesses live as ascetics; in fact, it is common for them to be married,<ref name="Britannica" /> and they are not traditionally expected to meditate. Rather, they are considered specialists in the arts of maintaining the connection between the ''kami'' and the people.<ref name="Britannica" />

In addition to these festivals, ceremonies marking rites of passage are also performed within the shrines. Two such ceremonies are the birth of a child and the Shichi-Go-San. When a child is born they are brought to a shrine so that they can be initiated as a new believer and the ''kami'' can bless them and their future life. The Shichi-Go-San (the Seven-Five-Three) is a rite of passage for five-year-old boys and three- or seven-year-old girls. It is a time for these young children to personally offer thanks for the ''kami's'' protection and to pray for continued health.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/shinto.htm |title=SHINTO |publisher=Religious Tolerance |access-date=2017-01-01}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|sure=yes|reason=Source appears to be a self-published site.|date=November 2017}}

Many other rites of passage are practiced by Shinto believers, and there are also many other festivals. The main reason for these ceremonies is so that Shinto followers can appease the ''kami'' in order to reach ''magokoro''.<ref name="Halverson" />{{rp|205}} ''Magokoro'' can only be received through the ''kami''. Ceremonies and festivals are long and complex because they need to be perfect to satisfy the ''kami''. If the ''kami'' are not pleased with these ceremonies, they will not grant a Shinto believer ''magokoro''.