JAPANESE CULTURE AND TRADITIONS

Shinto — The Peaceful Spiritual Heart of Japan

Love of nature is the essence of Shinto

Great Torii Gate at the original site of the Kumano Hongu Shrine, Wakayama Prefecture. You can see the golden emblem of the three-legged crow in the center. (©Diane Tincher)

You can’t help but notice signs of Shinto everywhere in Japan, from impressive torii gates in front of the shrines sprinkled throughout cities and the countryside to tiny conical piles of salt on either side of shop doors.

But what is Shinto? And why are there piles of salt by people’s doors?

Shinto’s roots

From time immemorial, people in Japan have loved and revered nature as a gift of the gods. They instinctively felt it was their duty to care for the natural world. And they realized that in order to live in harmony with nature, they needed to both receive its blessings and gracefully accept its ravages.

Shinto was born from this sense of awe and respect toward the power and beauty of nature and gratitude for its bounty.

Shinto deities or kami

Heaven, earth, and mankind all manifest nature’s energy. This natural energy, or life force, is what Shinto calls kami.

Life force is everywhere and in everything, so there are kami of mountains, wind, waterfalls, trees — all kinds of things. Shinto recognizes the great power and…