Definition of shinto Shinto

/ʃɪˈntowˌ/ - [shintow] - Shin•to

We found 9 definitions of shinto from 7 different sources.

What does shinto mean?

Noun
shinto - the native religion and former ethnic cult of Japan
		organized religion, religion, faith a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his morality"
		kokka, kokka shinto the branch of Shinto recognized as the official state religion of Japan
		shua, shuha shinto any branch of Shinto other than Kokka
shinto - the ancient indigenous religion of Japan lacking formal dogma; characterized by a veneration of nature spirits and of ancestors
		Shintoism
		religious belief, religion, faith a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his morality"
Adjective Shinto, shintoer, shintoest
shinto - relating to or characteristic of Shintoism; "Shinto temples"
		Shintoist, Shintoistic

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shinto
shin′tō, n. the system of nature and hero worship forming the indigenous religion of Japan.—ns. Shin′tōism; Shin′tōist. [Jap.,=Chin. shin tao—shin, god, tao, way, doctrine.]

Shinto (Japanese: 神道) or Shintoism is the native religion of Japan. They believe there are many "Kami", translated as gods or nature spirits. Some "kami" are just spirits of certain places, and some are the overall "kami" (like "Amaterasu", the Sun goddess). The word "Shinto" comes from the Japanese words "神", "shin" -- the word for god, and "道", "tō" -- the word for "the way" or "path". So, Shinto means "the way of the gods."

State Shinto was the main religion of Japan before World War II. Many Shinto customs are not done in Japan today, and some are still done every day, but they are not meant to be religious actions.