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, also ''kami-no-michi'', is the ethnic religion of the people of Japan.〔Williams, 2004. p. 4〕 It is defined as an action-centered religion,〔Williams, 2004. p. 6〕 focused on ritual practices to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient past.〔John Nelson. ''A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine''. 1996. pp. 7–8〕 Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written historical records of the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon Shoki'' in the 8th century. Still, these earliest Japanese writings do not refer to a unified "Shinto religion", but rather to a collection of native beliefs and mythology.〔 Shinto today is a term that applies to the religion of public shrines devoted to the worship of a multitude of gods (''kami''),〔Breen, Teeuwen. 2010. p. 1〕 suited to various purposes such as war memorials and harvest festivals, and applies as well to various sectarian organizations. Practitioners express their diverse beliefs through a standard language and practice, adopting a similar style in dress and ritual, dating from around the time of the Nara and Heian periods.〔 The word ''Shinto'' ("way of the gods") was adopted, originally as ''Shindo'',〔Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxi〕 from the written Chinese ''Shendao'' (神道, ), combining two ''kanji'': , meaning "spirit" or ''kami''; and , meaning a philosophical path or study (from the Chinese word ''dào'').〔 The oldest recorded usage of the word ''Shindo'' is from the second half of the 6th century.〔 ''Kami'' are defined in English as "spirits", "essences" or "gods", referring to the energy generating the phenomena.〔Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxii〕 Since Japanese language does not distinguish between singular and plural, ''kami'' refers to the divinity, or sacred essence, that manifests in multiple forms: rocks, trees, rivers, animals, places, and even people can be said to possess the nature of ''kami''.〔 Kami and people are not separate; they exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity.〔 Shinto is the largest religion in Japan, practiced by nearly 80% of the population, yet only a small percentage of these identify themselves as "Shintoists" in surveys.〔 This is because "Shinto" has different meanings in Japan: most of the Japanese attend Shinto shrines and beseech kami without belonging to an institutional "Shinto" religion,〔Engler, Price. 2005. p. 95〕 and since there are no formal rituals to become a member of "folk Shinto", "Shinto membership" is often estimated counting those who join organised Shinto sects.〔Williams, 2004. pp. 4–5〕 Shinto has 81,000 shrines and 85,000 priests in the country.〔 According to Inoue (2003): In modern scholarship, the term is often used with reference to kami worship and related theologies, rituals and practices. In these contexts, "Shinto" takes on the meaning of "Japan’s traditional religion", as opposed to foreign religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and so forth.〔Inoue Nobutaka, ''Shinto, a Short History'' (2003) p. 1〕 ==Types== Shinto religious expressions have been distinguished by scholars into a series of categories:〔Nobutaka Inoue. ''Shinto: A Short History''. Routledge, 2003. ISBN 0415319137〕 * , the main tradition of Shinto, has always been a part of Japan's history. It consists in taking part in worship practices and events at local shrines. Before the Meiji Restoration, shrines were disorganized institutions usually attached to Buddhist temples; in the Meiji Restoration they were made independent systematised institutions. The current successor to the imperial organization system, the Association of Shinto Shrines, oversees about 80,000 shrines nationwide. * are the religious rites performed exclusively by the imperial family at the three shrines on the imperial grounds, including the Ancestral Spirits Sanctuary (Kōrei-den) and the Sanctuary of the Kami (Shin-den). * includes the numerous but fragmented folk beliefs in deities and spirits. Practices include divination, spirit possession, and shamanic healing. Some of their practices come from Buddhism, Taoism or Confucianism, but most come from ancient local traditions. * is a legal designation originally created in the 1890s to separate government-owned shrines from local organised religious communities. These communities originated especially in the Edo period. The basic difference between Shrine Shinto and Sect Shinto is that sects are a later development and grew self-consciously. They can identify a founder, a formal set of teachings and even sacred scriptures. Sect Shinto groups are thirteen, and usually classified under five headings: pure Shinto sects (''Shinto Taikyo'', ''Shinrikyo'' and ''Izumo Oyashirokyo''), Confucian sects (''Shinto Shusei-ha'' and ''Taiseikyo''), mountain worship sects (''Jikkokyo'', ''Fusokyo'' and ''Mitakekyo'' or ''Ontakekyo''), purification sects (''Shinshukyo'' and ''Misogikyo''), and faith-healing sects (''Kurozumikyo'', ''Konkokyo'' and its branching ''Omotokyo'', and ''Tenrikyo'').〔Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. pp. 212–213〕 * , literally "Old Shinto", is a reconstructed "Shinto from before the time of Buddhism", today based on Ainu religion and Ryukyuan practices. It continues the restoration movement begun by Hirata Atsutane. Many other sects and schools can be distinguished.〔(Glossary A to Z – Shintō Schools & Sects )〕 is a grouping of Japanese new religions developed since the second half of the 20th century that have significantly departed from traditional Shinto and are not always regarded as part of it. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「shinto」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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