Shinto

The native religion of Japan which is not recorded in literature until the 6th century. The core of belief seems to be that spirits reside in numerous natural phenomena, such as sun, water, fire and mountains, and that it is important to attain ritual purity from pollution. Shinto shrines often have a mirror as the embodiment of the deity.

The native religion of Japan. Its doctrine was only committed to writing by those with nationalistic aims in the recent past, and could only be reconstructed from fragmentary survivals in folk beliefs and court ceremonies, together with the descriptions of myths and rituals in Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. The core of belief seems to be that spirits reside in numerous natural phenomena, such as sun, water, fire and mountains, and that it is important to attain ritual purity from pollution. Since Shinto shrines often have a mirror as the embodiment of the deity and share architectural details with the buildings represented in Haniwa and dotaku drawings, elements of Shinto probably date back to Yayoi and Kofun times when mirrors seem to have had ritual significance.