Shinto

is the native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. It involves the worship of , spirits. Some kami are local and can be regarded as the spiritual being/spirit or genius of a particular place, but other ones represent major natural objects and processes: for example, Amaterasu, the Sun goddess, or Mount Fuji. Shinto is an animistic belief system. The word Shinto was created by combining two kanji: (loan words usually retain their Chinese pronunciation, hence shin not kami), meaning gods or spirits ; and , meaning a philosophical way or path (originally from the Chinese word dao). As such, Shinto is commonly translated as "The Way of the Gods".