Each shrine honors different deities from Japan’s Shinto sect. Visitors often trek ... the sun goddess. She hid in a cave, causing darkness to fall over the world. The other deities brought ...

Shrine parishioners throw icy cold water on themselves during the annual cold-endurance festival at Kanda Myojin Shinto shrine in Tokyo, on Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) TOKYO (AP ...

Almost weekly Momo Nomura makes time to visit Shinto shrines. She performs the prescribed rituals — cleansing her hands, ringing a bell, bowing and clapping. But her main purpose is getting a ...

The Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership was formed in 1969 as an affiliate of the Association of Shinto Shrines, an influential group representing about 80,000 shrines nationwide.

SHIMOSUWA, Nagano -- A rare Shinto "porridge ritual" to predict the ... shinji" porridge ritual at Suwa Taisha's Shimosha Harumiya shrine in Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture, Jan. 14, 2025.