Shinto: The Kami Way by Sokyo Ono

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“In its general aspects Shinto is more than a religious faith. It is an amalgam of attitudes, ideas, and ways of doing things that through two millenniums and more have become an integral part of the way of the Japanese people.”

This is the second book I’ve read on Shinto, and it’s only increased my fascination. I think this is probably the idea starting point for anybody wanting to understand the history and particular of Shinto–it’s got a really nice breakdown of all the elements of a shrine, what they are, what they mean. It also gives some history of State Shinto, and talks about the relationship between Shinto and Buddhism.

This was also a very breezy read, by non-fiction standards, and I knocked out about half of it in a day (unusual for me). So again, a great entry point.

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