Shinto

American  

[shin-toh] / ˈʃɪn toʊ /

noun

1. Also Shintoism. the native religion of Japan, primarily a system of nature and ancestor worship.

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adjective

1. Also Shintoistic. of, relating to, or characteristic of Shinto.

Shinto British  

/ ˈʃɪntəʊ /

noun

1. the indigenous religion of Japan, polytheistic in character and incorporating the worship of a number of ethnic divinities, from the chief of which the emperor is believed to be descended

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Shintoist
  noun
• Shintoism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Shinto

< Japanese shintō, earlier shintau < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese shéndào way of the gods

Example Sentences

As these forms of faith came down to the present day, they tended to ignore the strain of religions that are mostly nonproselytizing—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto and tribal indigenous traditions.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

This year's watch began on January 5, with Kiyoshi Miyasaka -- a priest in Japan's Shinto religion -- leading the flock.

From Barron's • Feb. 15, 2026

In Osaka, Japan, young women dressed in traditional kimono took part in a Shinto ritual procession to mark the end of the year at Sumiyoshi Taisha, one of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025

Visible through one of the windows flanking the front door, she sat so still that she might have been mistaken for a statue, like the lion-dogs that guard the entrance to a Shinto shrine.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2024

Other manors possessed by Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples were also under a r�gime not much different from those of the nobles.

From An Introduction to the History of Japan by Hara, Katsuro