Shinto is the indigenous spirituality of Japan. A combination of myth, history and ritual designed to connect the present with the ancient past, Shinto is practised by the vast majority of the Japanese but is not regarded as a definable religion. Over the last two centuries Japan has repeatedly responded to the challenges of modernity, but it has struggled to define the spiritual and moral essence of Shinto. Shinto has been viewed as a national religion, a non-religious patriotic cult, a moral way, a “private religion” of Shinto shrines, and an ancient form of animism offering a contemporary ecological ethic.

Defining Shinto brings together the key official documents as well as political, religious, philosophical and historical essays to illustrate how Shinto has been transformed - from Japan’s emergence as a modern nation state in the late 19th century to the postmodern Japan of today - yet continues to be one of the most contested terms in the study of religion.

Contributors Katō Genchi, Ishida Ichirô, Ueda Kenji, Yanagita Kunio, Kume Kunitake, Sonoda Minoru, Miyata Noboru, Hozumi Nobushige, Kôno Seizô, Murakami Shigeyoshi, Orikuchi Shinobu, Tsuda Sôkichi, Watsuji Tetsurô, Kamata Tôji, Muraoka Tsunetsugu, Ashizu Uzuhiko