Shinto

Do you ever feel a happy little shiver when you see a giant mountain. Or feel like a very old tree is wise and special. That wonderful feeling is me. I am the quiet whisper in the wind and the happy gurgle of a clean stream. I live in the sunshine that warms your face and in the big rocks that have been here for a long, long time. People who feel me believe there are special spirits, called kami, in all of these amazing places. I am the way of these spirits. Hello, my name is Shinto.

For a very long time in a place called Japan, people felt me but did not have a name for me. They knew it was important to be kind to nature and to keep things clean and pure. Then, around the 6th century, another belief came to Japan. So people could talk about their own special way of honoring nature, they gave me my name: Shinto. They built beautiful houses called shrines for the kami to visit. You can always find these special places by looking for a big, pretty gate called a torii.

Today, I help people in Japan celebrate the world around them. They have fun festivals called matsuri to say thank you to the kami. They visit my shrines when a new baby is born or to wish for a good new year. I am a happy reminder to be thankful for our beautiful world, to be kind and clean, and to see the magic in everything. And you can feel me too, whenever you stop to say, 'Wow, thank you, nature.'.