Shinto shrines abound in Japan, and most Japanese take part in one or another Shinto ceremony over the course of a year. Although Shinto is not a missionary religion, Shinto now has an international ...

The Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership was formed in 1969 as an affiliate of the Association of Shinto Shrines, an influential group representing about 80,000 shrines nationwide.

Almost weekly Momo Nomura makes time to visit Shinto shrines. She performs the prescribed rituals — cleansing her hands, ringing a bell, bowing and clapping. But her main purpose is getting a ...

Dozens of people soaked and splashed themselves in painfully icy cold water in a pool at a Tokyo shrine, adhering to Japanese ...

Shrine parishioners throw icy cold water on themselves during the annual cold-endurance festival at Kanda Myojin Shinto shrine in Tokyo, on Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) TOKYO (AP ...