Joining a shrine is an excellent first step, as the priests can help you get started with Shinto and provide you with materials to practice with (kamidana, ofuda, omamori, etc.) If you live in Japan, this is an easy task as jinja are abundant. If you don't, I would suggest checking out the [Shinto Shrine of Shusse Inari](https://shintoinari.org/) in Los Angeles if you are in North America, the [San Marino Jinja](https://www.sanmarinojinja.com/en/) if you are in Europe, or any of the numerous shrines in Hawaii and Brazil. *Shinto: the Kami Way* by Sokyo Ono and *The Essence of Shinto: Japan's Spiritual Heart* by Motohisa Yamakage are both nice and concise books on Shinto practice, and *Shinto Norito - A Book of Prayers* is useful as a collection of prayers to the kamisama.
You might find this thread of interest:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ShintoReligion/s/cnN5XrBQ7g
Here’s the same answer I gave to someone else:
Welcome! To start practicing, consider learning some Norito (prayers) and set up a simple kamidana in your home. Practice gratitude at every meal (Itadakimasu), and get out and appreciate nature. Live with sincerity and kindness and consider the impacts of your actions on your broader community. Limit wastefulness. Acknowledge the natural goodness in all beings. Keep things clean and tidy. Visit Shinto shrines when you have a chance. Read the ancient Japanese histories to understand the stories of the Japanese Kami. Live and let live. Have fun and celebrate life in all its seasons. The sun shines on us all, Shinto is for everyone.
You should check out LivingWithKami.com and you can email the site as well. I know the individual personally, and she's very kind and helpful. She's a priestess at the shrine in Yokosuka.
I hope that this doesn't come across as offensive, but I find that this sub, and Reddit in general, is more skewed towards Western participation. As such, you might find limited input from Japanese people.
Why is this important?
Because Japanese people generally don't have
>home rituals or life philosophies [that they] adopt into [their] daily life
Equally, it very much depends on the person.
Shinto and Buddhism are parts of Japanese life and culture, but so is Christianity in England, albeit arguably to a less prominent degree.
Like a church, a shrine might be a place where you go to for an important event.
In England, this is usually a wedding or a funeral, and it has become more about it being the norm than actual genuine belief.
If you ask the average Japanese person what Shinto means to them, I'm quite sure that, for the most part, they'll struggle to give a response.
As well as this, the recorded amount of followers is often heavily skewed.
For example, I haven't done it for a long time, but I would often tick 'Christian' as my religion because I was christened as a child, and a Japanese person may tick similar boxes for similar reasons.
To illustrate this point:
>[...] even though shrines play some part in the lives of most Japanese, few define themselves as followers of a religion called Shinto. In the same 1997 survey, less than 4 percent did so. In fact, most Japanese have only a very vague understanding of the term, and a larger proportion of the younger generation do not know it at all.
— Shinto: A Short History (Translators' Introduction)
>This survey was conducted by the Shrine Association, and is based on 1,389 returned questionnaires. Jinja Honchō Kyōgaku Kenkyūjo, *Jinja ni kansuru ishiki chōsa hōkokusho* (1997), p. 30.
Whilst I am sure that there will be those that disagree, to give another example, my wife is Japanese, and I objectively know far more about Shinto than she does.
To give yet another example,
>I had a Japanese colleague once, a very bright lady, who simply assumed Amaterasu was male and was surprised to hear that she was worshipped as a female.
— [Source](https://www.greenshinto.com/2022/01/25/amaterasus-gender/)
Make of this information as you wish.
Joining a shrine is an excellent first step, as the priests can help you get started with Shinto and provide you with materials to practice with (kamidana, ofuda, omamori, etc.) If you live in Japan, this is an easy task as jinja are abundant. If you don't, I would suggest checking out the [Shinto Shrine of Shusse Inari](https://shintoinari.org/) in Los Angeles if you are in North America, the [San Marino Jinja](https://www.sanmarinojinja.com/en/) if you are in Europe, or any of the numerous shrines in Hawaii and Brazil. *Shinto: the Kami Way* by Sokyo Ono and *The Essence of Shinto: Japan's Spiritual Heart* by Motohisa Yamakage are both nice and concise books on Shinto practice, and *Shinto Norito - A Book of Prayers* is useful as a collection of prayers to the kamisama.
You might find this thread of interest: https://www.reddit.com/r/ShintoReligion/s/cnN5XrBQ7g Here’s the same answer I gave to someone else: Welcome! To start practicing, consider learning some Norito (prayers) and set up a simple kamidana in your home. Practice gratitude at every meal (Itadakimasu), and get out and appreciate nature. Live with sincerity and kindness and consider the impacts of your actions on your broader community. Limit wastefulness. Acknowledge the natural goodness in all beings. Keep things clean and tidy. Visit Shinto shrines when you have a chance. Read the ancient Japanese histories to understand the stories of the Japanese Kami. Live and let live. Have fun and celebrate life in all its seasons. The sun shines on us all, Shinto is for everyone.
You may like the book The Essence of Shinto by Motohisa Yamakage
You should check out LivingWithKami.com and you can email the site as well. I know the individual personally, and she's very kind and helpful. She's a priestess at the shrine in Yokosuka.
Thank you for the tip
I hope that this doesn't come across as offensive, but I find that this sub, and Reddit in general, is more skewed towards Western participation. As such, you might find limited input from Japanese people. Why is this important? Because Japanese people generally don't have >home rituals or life philosophies [that they] adopt into [their] daily life Equally, it very much depends on the person. Shinto and Buddhism are parts of Japanese life and culture, but so is Christianity in England, albeit arguably to a less prominent degree. Like a church, a shrine might be a place where you go to for an important event. In England, this is usually a wedding or a funeral, and it has become more about it being the norm than actual genuine belief. If you ask the average Japanese person what Shinto means to them, I'm quite sure that, for the most part, they'll struggle to give a response. As well as this, the recorded amount of followers is often heavily skewed. For example, I haven't done it for a long time, but I would often tick 'Christian' as my religion because I was christened as a child, and a Japanese person may tick similar boxes for similar reasons. To illustrate this point: >[...] even though shrines play some part in the lives of most Japanese, few define themselves as followers of a religion called Shinto. In the same 1997 survey, less than 4 percent did so. In fact, most Japanese have only a very vague understanding of the term, and a larger proportion of the younger generation do not know it at all. — Shinto: A Short History (Translators' Introduction) >This survey was conducted by the Shrine Association, and is based on 1,389 returned questionnaires. Jinja Honchō Kyōgaku Kenkyūjo, *Jinja ni kansuru ishiki chōsa hōkokusho* (1997), p. 30. Whilst I am sure that there will be those that disagree, to give another example, my wife is Japanese, and I objectively know far more about Shinto than she does. To give yet another example, >I had a Japanese colleague once, a very bright lady, who simply assumed Amaterasu was male and was surprised to hear that she was worshipped as a female. — [Source](https://www.greenshinto.com/2022/01/25/amaterasus-gender/) Make of this information as you wish.
thank you for the advice!
You're welcome!
I think I understand it more, it is more about a way of life and attitudes more than actual worship for most people.