Shinto

Shinto is Japan’s oldest native religion, deeply rooted and widely practiced across the country.
Its history stretches far back, with origins said to date to the Jomon period (Approx. 18,000 BCE–300 BCE), and its basic form believed to have taken shape by the Kofun period (Approx. 300–600).

Shinto is a polytheistic belief system that sees kami (divine spirits) in all things, and venerates nature (water, the sun, the moon), animals, myths, everyday tools, and more.
Because it is rooted in nature worship and ancient rituals, with deep respect for ancestors, Shinto has no founder or single religious leader.
Freedom and flexibility in belief are valued by region, family line, and individual, so practices may differ even among people who identify as Shinto.

In Japan, Shinto and Buddhism influenced each other for centuries through a blended form of worship known as Shinbutsu-shugo (the fusion of Shinto and Buddhism).
Although they are now treated as separate religions due to the policy of separating Shinto and Buddhism, many shrines and temples across Japan still show traces of that shared history.