"Shinto" harmonizes people with the natural world (216)." Shinto is a polytheistic religion in which each sanctuary has its own specific deity. The followers of this religion rarely know the name of the deity they are worshiping, nor do they care to, because their concern lies in whether they can feel it's existence. Many aspects contribute to Shintoism in its entirety including nature, the kami, shrines, ceremonies, purification, and festivals. .
Shinto has no founder, no sacred literature in which the religion is based, and no ethical requirement. The main aspects in the practice of Shinto are affinity with natural beauty, harmony with spirits, and purification rituals. The common followers of this religion are the Japanese. They believed the divine to be all around them because the beauty and power of nature surrounded them. .
"In Shinto, the sacred is both immanent and transcendent (218)." The deity was believed to have given birth to several kami, or spirits. The Amatsu Kami organized the material world, and the Kami Amaterasu, the Goddess of the sun, created all of the natural world - land, water, animals, and people. When the two were combined in relationship the spiritual creation of the kami evolved. Kami can mean either god or spirit, and can be one or many, because it is a single essence manifesting in a variety of places. The kami harmonized everything in our universe, and resides in beautiful and powerful places like mountains or waterfalls. The kami may manifest as wind or rain, and also in abstract form. Acknowledging and following the kami brings one's life into harmony - referred to as kannagara. Kannagara can also be interpreted as Natural religion, whose spirit may be a flower, the wind, rain, and many others. " Kannagara means being in communion with these forms of beauty and so with the highest level of experiences of life. When people respond to the silent and provocative beauty of the natural order, they are aware of kannagara (221).
