Eastern Religions in Credo: Shinto

From Collins Dictionary Of Sociology
Varying forms of religious rites and cult activity centred on respect for actual or mythical ancestors

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
The belief that every object contains a spirit or soul. The word animism is derived from the Latin word animus, meaning ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’. Its basic principle may be stated simply as ‘everything is alive’ or ‘everything has a soul’. Animism is one of man’s oldest beliefs, with origins probably dating back to the Palaeolithic age; animistic beliefs are still widespread today among native cultures, and some modern neopagans also describe their belief system as animist, with the goddess and horned god who make up everything that exists, while pantheists similarly equate ‘God’ with ‘existence’.

Religion and philosophy founded in India c.525 B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha. There are over 300 million Buddhists worldwide. One of the great world religions, it is divided into two main schools: the Theravada or Hinayana in Sri Lanka and SE Asia, and the Mahayana in China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan. A third school, the Vajrayana, has a long tradition in Tibet and Japan. The basic doctrines of early Buddhism include the "four noble truths": existence is suffering (dukhka); suffering has a cause, namely craving and attachment (trishna); there is a cessation of suffering, which is nirvana; and there is a path to the cessation of suffering.

Questions of right and wrong considered according to Buddhism. Buddhist beliefs are governed by the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Five Moral Precepts.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
In the Shingon school of Buddhism, the name for the syncretic coexistence of Shinto and Buddhism.

From Cultural Studies: Holidays Around the World
Held in Tokyo at the Hié Shrine, the Sanno Matsuri is held every two years, alternating with the Kanda Matsuri at the Kanda Shrine.

Japan's largest religion, with a following that constitutes more than 80% of the population. Ancient native religion of Japan still practiced in a form modified by the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism. In its present form Shinto is characterized less by religious doctrine or belief than by the observance of popular festivals and traditional ceremonies and customs, many involving pilgrimages to shrines.

From Religious Holidays & Calendars
The Shinto observance of the Japanese new year is focused on activities at shrines.

Buddhist sect of China and Japan. The name of the sect (Chin. Ch'an, Jap. Zen) derives from the Sanskrit dhyana [meditation].

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Foremost Shintō shrine in Japan, at Ise, in southern Honshu. The Inner Shrine (traditionally founded 4 BC) is dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu.

Jap. Nihon or Nippon, country, 145,833 sq mi (377,835 sq km), occupying an archipelago off the coast of E Asia. The capital is Tokyo, which, along with neighboring Yokohama, forms the world's most populous metropolitan region. Historically, the divine design of the empire—supposedly founded in 660 B.C. by the emperor Jimmu, a lineal descendant of the sun goddess and ancestor of the present emperor—was held as official dogma until 1945.

Place regarded as holy due to an association with a divine figure, relic, or event. Shrines are important places in most religions, and are often a focus of worship or meditation.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Ancient name of Japan and particularly the province of western Honshu where Japanese civilization began and where the early capitals were located; also the clan from which all emperors of Japan are descended, claiming the sun-goddess as ancestor.

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Buddhism
Amaterasu, one of the major Shinto deities, is revered throughout Japan as the sun goddess. Amaterasu is the focus of a variety of Japanese myths, especially stories that concern the seasons and the rising of the sun each day. Equally important are the stories connecting her with the Japanese emperor. She is believed to be the mother of the imperial family; the first emperor was her son, whom she established on his throne.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
In Shinto, the primordial god and goddess, sister and brother, whose union brought into being Earth's divine rulers and the physical features (islands and mountains) of Japan. Izanagi gave birth to the Sun goddess Amaterasu from his left eye, and the Moon goddess Tsuki-yomi from his right eye. They also had a son, Susanowo, the storm god. The myth of Izanagi included a descent into yomotsu-kuni, the underworld of the dead, to search for Izanami.

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Central hero in the mythology of the Izumo branch of Shintō in Japan. Ōkuninushi built the world with the help of the dwarf deity Sukunahikona, and he ruled Izumo until the appearance of the divine grandchild, Ninigi. In modern Japanese folk belief, Ōkuninushi is a god who heals and who makes marriages happy.

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Buddhism
One of the major Shinto deities, Susano-o no Mikoto is variously described as the sea deity or storm deity, the ruler of the oceans, which completely surround the island nation of Japan. Susano-o no Mikoto emerges from the ancient Shinto creation myths.

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Buddhism
One of the major Shinto deities, Tsuki-yomi, is the moon deity (kami), the ruler of the night. Tsuki-yomi first appears in the ancient Shinto creation myths. After Izanagi returns from his search for Izanami in the underworld, he goes through a purification ritual in which he first cleans his eyes and nose. From his right eye emerges Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and from his left eye Tsuki-yomi, while Susano-o no Mikoto, the sea god, emerges from nose cleaning.