Shinto

Shinto is the traditional religion of Nihon, and is inextricably linked to the traditions and land of that single country.

Beliefs
Shinto holds that all things are connected to Kami, loosely translatable as spirits or gods, which are revered and worshipped via a network of shrines and orders. Different Kami connect to different locations, activities, or objects, but in particular the land of Nihon itself is revered with many temples and rituals focusing on establishing a connection between the Nihonese people of the present with their ancient ancestors and the land itself. If there is one particular point of silence in Shinto doctrine it is on the subject of death: many Nihonese choose to "die Buddhist" and participate in Nihon's Mahayana tradition at the end of their lives rather than defer to the conflicting mythology of the afterlife, which seems to promise only gloomy eternity or apotheosis for the legendary.

Organization
Shinto shrines are highly independent and local arrangements, with most communities maintaining their own and often having local traditions mutually exclusive with others. The Tenno, or Emperor, is often regarded as a living Kami representing the Nihonese nation as a whole, but political realities have kept him from exerting a real influence.

Sects
Members of the Okuden Yumeshin-Kyo sect in Shikoku consider themselves as an evolution of Shinto.