Characteristics of Shinto
Torii at Itsukushima ShrineThe most immediately striking theme in the Shinto religion is a great love and reverence for nature. Thus, a waterfall, the moon, or just an oddly shaped rock might come to be regarded as a kami; so might charismatic persons or more abstract entities like growth and fertility. As time went by, the original nature-worshipping roots of the religion, while never lost entirely, became attenuated and the kami took on more reified and anthropomorphic forms, with a formidable corpus of myth attached to them. (See also: Japanese mythology.) The kami, though, are not transcendent deities in the usual Western and Indian sense of the word—although divine, they are close to us; they inhabit the same world as we do, make the same mistakes as we do, and feel and think the same way as we do. Those who died would automatically be added to the rank of kami regardless of their human doings. (Though it is thought that one can become a ghost under certain circumstances involving unsettled disputes in life.) Belief is not a central aspect in Shinto, and proper observation of ritual is more important than whether one "truly believes" in the ritual. Thus, even those believing other religions may be venerated as kami after death, if there are Shinto believers who wish them to be.


Practice and teaching of Shinto
Afterlife
Unlike many religions, one does not need to publicly profess belief in Shinto to be a Shintoist. Whenever a child is born in Japan, a local Shinto shrine adds the child's name to a list kept at the shrine and declares him or her "Ujiko", lit. name child. After death an "Ujiko" becomes an "Ujigami", lit. name kami. One may choose to have one's name added to another list when moving and then be listed at both places. Names can be added to the list without consent and regardless of the beliefs of the person added to the list. However, this is not considered an imposition of belief, but a sign of the welcome of the area kami, with the promise of addition to the pantheon of kami after death. Those children who die before addition to the list are called "Mizuko", lit. water child, and believed to cause troubles and plagues. "Mizuko" are often worshipped in a Shinto shrine dedicated to stilling their anger and sadness. These shrines have become more popular with the growth of abortion in modern Japan.

Because Shinto has co-existed with Buddhism for well over a millennium, it is very difficult to disentangle Shinto and Buddhist beliefs about the world. One might say that where Buddhism emphasizes the afterlife and ending the cycle of rebirths, Shinto emphasizes this life and finding happiness within it. Though Buddhism and Shinto have very different perspectives on the world, most Japanese do not see any need to reconcile these two very different religions and practice both. Thus, it is common for people to practice Shinto in life yet have a Buddhist funeral. Their different perspectives on the afterlife are seen as complementing each other, and frequently the ritual practice of one will have an origin in the other.


Four affirmations
Though Shinto has no absolute commandments for its adherents outside of living "a simple and harmonious life with nature and people", there are said to be "Four Affirmations" of the Shinto spirit:

Tradition and the family: The family is seen as the main mechanism by which traditions are preserved. Their main celebrations relate to birth and marriage.
Love of nature: Nature is sacred; to be in contact with nature is to be close to the kami. Natural objects are worshipped as containing sacred spirits.
Physical cleanliness: Followers of Shinto take baths, wash their hands, and rinse out their mouth often.
"Matsuri": Festivals in which the worship and honor is given to the kami.

Sin and impurity
Shinto does not teach that anything is a sin per se. Rather, certain deeds create a kind of ritual impurity that one should want cleansed merely for one's own peace of mind and good fortune, and not because impurity is wrong in and of itself. Evil and wrong deeds are called kegare (literally, "dirtiness"), and the opposite notion is kiyome (purity). Normal days are called ke (day), and festive days are called hare (sunny, or simply good). Killing living beings should be done with a gratitude and with a reverence for taking life to continue one's own, and it should be kept to a minimum. Modern Japanese continue to place great emphasis on the importance of aisatsu, or ritual phrases and greetings. Before eating, many (though not all) Japanese say "itadakimasu" ("I will humbly receive [this food]") in order to show proper thankfulness to the preparer of the meal in particular and more generally to all those living things that lost their lives to make the meal. Failure to show proper respect can be seen as a sign of pride and lack of concern for others. Such an attitude is looked down upon because it is believed to create problems for all. Those who fail to take into account the feelings of other people and kami will only attract ruin for themselves. The worst expression of such an attitude is the taking of another's life for personal advancement or enjoyment. Those killed without being shown gratitude for their sacrifice will hold urami, (a grudge) and become aragami, a powerful and evil kami that seeks revenge. This same emphasis on the need for cooperation and collaboration can be seen throughout Japanese culture even today. Thus, at modern Japanese companies no action is taken before consensus is reached (even if only superficially) among all parties to a decision.


Purification
Purification rites are a vital part of Shinto. These may serve to placate any restive kami, for instance when their shrine had to be relocated. Such ceremonies have also been adapted to modern life. For example, a ceremony was held in 1969 to hallow the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, new buildings made in Japan are frequently blessed by a Shinto priest during the groundbreaking ceremony, and many cars made in Japan have been blessed as part of the assembly process. A more personal purification rite is the purification by water. This may involve standing beneath a waterfall or performing ritual ablutions in a river-mouth or in the sea. A third form of purification is avoidance, that is, the taboo placed on certain persons or acts. For example, women were not allowed to climb Mount Fuji until 1868, in the era of the Meiji Restoration. Although this aspect has decreased in recent years, religious Japanese will not use an inauspicious word like "cut" at a wedding, nor will they attend a wedding if they have recently been bereaved.