The word Shinto came from China, which means the way of God (or kami).

Shinto is the native religion of Japan. It is a polytheistic religion, and involves the worship of kami, or spirits. Shinto's kami are collectively called yaoyorozu no kami, which literally means "eight million kami."

Shinto is an animistic belief system, and it is believed that some kami reside in objects like rocks, trees, or mountains. Ancient Japanese people intuitively found such places or objects which had emitted sacred energy, and worshiped them by building shrines.

In shinto, various kinds of prayer rituals are emphasized for healing the sick people or other purification purposes.