Editing Religion in Japan (section)

===Shinto===
{{Main|Shinto}}
{{See also|Association of Shinto Shrines}}
{{Shinto}}
{{Nihongo|Shinto|神道|''Shintō''}}, also {{Transliteration|ja|kami-no-michi}},{{efn|Both mean the "way of the divine" or "of the gods". Other names are:<ref>Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiv</ref>
* '''{{Transliteration|ja|Kannagara-no-michi}}''', "way of the divine transmitted from time immemorial";
* '''{{Transliteration|ja|Kodo}}''', the "ancient way";
* '''{{Transliteration|ja|Daido}}''', the "great way";
* '''{{Transliteration|ja|Teido}}''', the "imperial way".}} is the [[indigenous religion]] of [[Japan]] and of most of the [[Japanese people|people of Japan]].<ref>Williams, 2004. p. 4</ref> George Williams classifies Shinto as an action-centered [[religion]];<ref>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=George |year=2004 |title=Shinto |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-hmFOZe7m4MC |series=Religions of the World |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Infobase Publishing |publication-date=2009 |page=6 |isbn=9781438106465 |access-date=12 May 2019 |quote=Shinto is an action-centered religion (one based on actions) and not a confessional religion (one that requires a set of beliefs or a profession of faith).}}</ref> it focuses on [[ritual]] practices to be carried out diligently in order to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient roots.<ref>John Nelson. ''A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine''. 1996. pp. 7–8</ref> The written historical records of the {{Transliteration|ja|[[Kojiki]]}} and {{Transliteration|ja|[[Nihon Shoki]]}} first recorded and codified Shinto practices in the 8th century. Still, these earliest Japanese writings do not refer to a unified "Shinto religion", but rather to a collection of native beliefs and of [[Japanese mythology|mythology]].<ref name="JapaneseReligion1985" /> Shinto in the 21st century is the religion of public [[Shinto shrine|shrines]] devoted to the worship of a multitude of [[deity|gods]] ({{Transliteration|ja|[[kami]]}}),<ref name="Breen, Teeuwen. 2010. p. 1">Breen, Teeuwen. 2010. p. 1</ref> suited to various purposes such as war memorials and [[harvest festival]]s, and applies as well to various sectarian organizations. Practitioners express their diverse beliefs through a standard language and practice, adopting a similar style in dress and ritual dating from around the time of the [[Nara period|Nara]] (710–794) and [[Heian period|Heian]] (794–1185) periods.<ref name="JapaneseReligion1985" />{{multiple image
| align             = center
| width             = 160
| image1            = Takabe jinja haiden.JPG
| caption1          = {{Transliteration|ja|Takabe-[[Shinto shrine|jinja]]}} in [[Minamibōsō]], [[Chiba Prefecture|Chiba]], an example of the native {{Transliteration|ja|[[shinmei-zukuri]]}} style
| image2            = Isana s02.JPG
| caption2          = {{Transliteration|ja|[[Haiden (Shinto)|Haiden]]}} of the {{Transliteration|ja|[[Izanagi]]-jinja}} in [[Suita, Osaka|Suita]], [[Osaka Prefecture|Osaka]]
| image3            = 131130 Nagaoka-tenmangu Nagaokakyo Kyoto pref Japan12s3.jpg
| caption3          = {{Transliteration|ja|Tenman-gū}} in [[Nagaokakyō, Kyoto|Nagaokakyō]], [[Kyoto]]
| image4            = Kotozakihachiman.JPG
| caption4          = Shrine of {{Transliteration|ja|[[Hachiman]]}} in [[Ube, Yamaguchi|Ube]], [[Yamaguchi Prefecture|Yamaguchi]]
}}The Japanese adopted the word ''Shinto'' ("way of the gods"), originally as ''Shindo'',<ref name="Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxi">Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxi</ref> from the written [[Chinese language|Chinese]] {{Transliteration|zh|[[Shendao]]}} ({{lang-zh|c=神道|p=shén dào}}),<ref name="Sokyo1962">{{cite book |title= Shinto: The Kami Way |publisher= Charles E Tuttle Co |location= [[Rutland (city), Vermont|Rutland, VT]] |first= Ono |last= Sokyo |edition= 1st |year= 1962 |page= 2 |isbn= 978-0-8048-1960-2 |oclc= 40672426}}</ref>{{efn|During the [[history of China]], at the time of the spread of [[Buddhism]] to that country {{circa}} 1st century CE, the name {{Transliteration|zh|Shendao}} identified what is currently known as "[[Shenism]]", the Chinese indigenous religion, distinguishing it from the new Buddhist religion. (Brian Bocking. ''A Popular Dictionary of Shinto''. Routledge, 2005. ASIN: B00ID5TQZY p. 129)}} combining two [[kanji]]: {{Nihongo||神|shin}}, meaning "spirit" or {{Transliteration|ja|kami}}; and {{Nihongo||道|tō}}, meaning a philosophical path or study (from the Chinese word {{Transliteration|zh|[[dào]]}}).<ref name="JapaneseReligion1985">{{cite book |title= Japanese Religion |publisher= Prentice Hall Inc |location= Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey |first= Robert Ellwood |last= Richard Pilgrim |edition= 1st |year= 1985|isbn= 978-0-13-509282-8 |pages= 18–19}}</ref><ref name="Sokyo1962"/> The oldest recorded usage of the word {{Transliteration|ja|Shindo}} dates from the second half of the 6th century.<ref name="Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxi"/> {{Transliteration|ja|Kami}} are defined in English as "spirits", "essences" or "gods", referring to the energy generating the phenomena.<ref name="Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxii">Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxii</ref> Since the [[Japanese language]] does not distinguish between singular and plural, {{Transliteration|ja|kami}} refers to the [[divinity]], or [[sacred]] essence, that manifests in multiple forms: rocks, trees, rivers, animals, places, and even people can be said to possess the nature of {{Transliteration|ja|kami}}.<ref name="Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxii"/> {{Transliteration|ja|Kami}} and people are not separate; they exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity.<ref name="JapaneseReligion1985"/>

[[Shinto]] is the largest religion in Japan, practiced by nearly 80% of the population, yet only a small percentage of these identify themselves as "Shintoists" in surveys.<ref name="Breen, Teeuwen. 2010. p. 1"/> This is due to the fact that "Shinto" has different meanings in Japan: most of the Japanese attend Shinto shrines and beseech kami without belonging to Shinto organisations,<ref name="Engler, Price. 2005. p. 95"/> and since there are no formal rituals to become a member of folk "Shinto", "Shinto membership" is often estimated counting those who join organised Shinto sects.<ref name="Williams, 2004. pp. 4-5"/> Shinto has 100,000 [[Shinto shrine|shrines]]<ref name="Breen, Teeuwen. 2010. p. 1"/> and 78,890 [[kannushi|priests]] in the country.<ref name="Bestor, Yamagata. 2011. p. 65"/>

====Shinto sects and new religions====
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| width             = 150
| image1            = Shinrikyo02.jpg
| caption1          = Main shrine of {{nihongo|Shinriism|神理教|Shinrikyō}} in [[Kitakyushu]], [[Fukuoka Prefecture]]
| image2            = Sukyo Mahikari Headquarter 02.jpg
| caption2          = Headquarters of [[Sukyo Mahikari]] in [[Takayama, Gifu|Takayama]], [[Gifu Prefecture]]
| image3            = 円応教本部 五法閣.jpg
| caption3          = Headquarters of {{nihongo|[[Ennokyo]]|円応教|En'nōkyō}} in [[Tamba, Hyōgo|Tamba]], [[Hyōgo Prefecture]]
}}
{{Main|Shinto sects and schools}}
{{Further|Japanese new religions}}
Profound changes occurred in Japanese society in the 20th century (especially after [[World War II]]), including rapid industrialisation and urbanisation.<ref name="Earhart, 2013. pp. 286-287">Earhart, 2013. pp. 286-287</ref> Traditional religions, challenged by the transformation, underwent a reshaping themselves,<ref name="Earhart, 2013. pp. 286-287"/> and principles of religious freedom articulated by the 1947 [[Constitution of Japan|constitution]]<ref>Bestor, Yamagata. 2011. pp. 64-65.</ref> provided space for the proliferation of new religious movements.<ref name="Bestor, Yamagata. 2011. p. 65">Bestor, Yamagata. 2011. p. 65</ref>

New sects of Shinto, as well as movements claiming a thoroughly independent status, and also new forms of [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] lay societies, provided ways of aggregation for people uprooted from traditional families and village institutions.<ref>Earhart, 2013. pp. 289-290</ref> While traditional Shinto has a residential and hereditary basis, and a person participates in the worship activities devoted to the local tutelary deity or ancestor – occasionally asking for specific healing or blessing services or participating in pilgrimages – in the new religions individuals formed groups without regard to kinship or territorial origins, and such groups required a voluntary decision to join.<ref name="Earhart, 2013. p. 290">Earhart, 2013. p. 290</ref> These new religions also provided cohesion through a unified doctrine and practice shared by the nationwide community.<ref name="Earhart, 2013. p. 290"/>

The officially recognized new religions number in the hundreds, and total membership reportedly numbers in the tens of millions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shimazono |first=Susumu |year=2004 |title=From Salvation to Spirituality: Popular Religious Movements in Modern Japan |publisher=Pacific Press}}</ref>{{rp|234–235}} The largest new religion, [[Soka Gakkai]], a Buddhist sect founded in 1930, gathers around 4 million members. Scholars in Japan have estimated that between 10% and 20% of the population belongs to the new religions,<ref name="Bestor, Yamagata. 2011. p. 65"/> although more realistic estimates put the number at well below the 10% mark.<ref name="Bestor, Yamagata. 2011. p. 65"/> {{As of|2007}} there are 223,831 priests and leaders of the new religions in Japan, three times the number of traditional Shinto priests.<ref name="Bestor, Yamagata. 2011. p. 65"/>

Many of these new religions derive from Shinto, retain the fundamental characters of Shinto, and often identify themselves as forms of Shinto. These include [[Tenrikyo]], [[Konkokyo]], [[Omotokyo]], Shinrikyo, [[Shinreikyo]], [[Sekai Shindokyo]], [[Zenrinkyo]] and others. Others are independent new religions, including [[Aum Shinrikyo]], [[Mahikari]] movements, the [[PL Kyodan|Church of Perfect Liberty]], [[Seicho-No-Ie]], the [[Church of World Messianity]], and others.