Shinto

<p><em>Shinto - A Short History</em> provides an introductory outline of the historical development of Shinto from the ancient period of Japanese history until the present day. <br>Shinto does not offer a readily identifiable set of teachings rituals or beliefs; individual shrines and kami deities have led their own lives not within the confines of a narrowly defined Shinto but rather as participants in a religious field that included Buddhist Taoist Confucian and folk elements. Thus this book approaches Shinto as a series of historical 'religious systems' rather than attempting to identify a timeless 'Shinto essence'.<br>This history focuses on three aspects of Shinto practice: the people involved in shrine worship the institutional networks that ensured continuity and teachings and rituals. By following the interplay between these aspects in different periods a pattern of continuity and discontinuity is revealed that challenges received understandings of the history of Shinto.<br>This book does not presuppose prior knowledge of Japanese religion and is easily accessible for those new to the subject.</p>