Shinto

American  

[shin-toh] / ˈʃɪn toʊ /

noun

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

---

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

---

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

Early samurai patronage of theater, painting and tea ceremonies, as well as their religious support of Buddhism, Shinto and even Christianity, are all on display.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026

When the crossing appears, Yatsurugi's priest holds a Shinto ritual on the ice, something Miyasaka has been able to do just 11 times in over four decades in the job.

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

The ancient state religion or “Imperial worship” of Japan, the Shinto, was becoming as obsolete as the worldly power of its high-priest the Mikado, next to the growing ascendancy of Buddhism, supported by the Shogunate.

From The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations by Nuttall, Zelia