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The earliest period of Japanese historiography is the hunter-gatherer Jōmon period, which is thought to have been primarily animistic.In the later centuries (14,000–400 BC) of this period, there was an emergence of distinctive material artifacts such as clay figurines (known to scholars as dogū), intricate ceramics, and masks.
Shugendō (修験道, lit. the "Way [of] Trial [and] Practice", the "Way of Shugen, or Gen-practice") [1] is a highly syncretic religion, [2] a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local ...
Shinto (神道, Shintō), also kami-no-michi, [a] is the indigenous religion of Japan and of most of the people of Japan. [14] George Williams classifies Shinto as an action-centered religion; [15] it focuses on ritual practices to be carried out diligently in order to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient roots. [16]
A torii gateway to the Yobito Shrine (Yobito-jinja) in Abashiri City, HokkaidoThere is no universally agreed definition of Shinto. [2] According to Joseph Cali and John Dougill, if there was "one single, broad definition of Shinto" that could be put forward, it would be that "Shinto is a belief in kami", the supernatural entities at the centre of the religion. [3]
Shinto is a religion native to Japan with a centuries'-long history tied to various influences in origin. [1]Although historians debate [citation needed] the point at which it is suitable to begin referring to Shinto as a distinct religion, kami veneration has been traced back to Japan's Yayoi period (300 BC to AD 300).
The ancient animistic spirituality of Japan was the beginning of modern Shinto, which became a formal spiritual institution later, in an effort to preserve the traditional beliefs from the encroachment of imported religious ideas.
This is a list of divinities native to Japanese beliefs and religious traditions. Many of these are from Shinto , while others were imported via Buddhism and were "integrated" into Japanese mythology and folklore .
Two important sources for Japanese myths, as they are recognized today, are the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. [4] [5] The Kojiki, or "Record of Ancient Matters," is the oldest surviving account of Japan's myths, legends, and history. [6] Additionally, the Shintōshū describes the origins of Japanese deities from a Buddhist perspective. [7]