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The sacred space of Shinto are called [[jinja]] (神社, or Shrines). Thousands of small shrines exist across Japan, many sharing ground with [[Buddhist]] Monasteries, especially in [[Kyoto]] and [[Tokyo]]. The entry way into a Shinto shrine is always marked by a Torii (gate), which symbolizes the border between normal life and the divine; the spiritual world as separated from the rest.

The sacred space of Shinto are called [[jinja]] (神社, or Shrines). Thousands of small shrines exist across Japan, many sharing ground with [[Buddhist]] Monasteries, especially in [[Kyoto]] and [[Tokyo]]. The entry way into a Shinto shrine is always marked by a Torii (gate), which symbolizes the border between normal life and the divine; the spiritual world as separated from the rest.

==Other deities or mythological figures==

==Shinto deities==

'''Amaterasu''' is a mythical sun goddess in the ancient [[Japanese]] religion of [[Shinto|Shintoism]]. The most famous story about [[Amaterasu]] tells of her retreat to a cave when her brother the storm god ravaged the earth with storms. Without the sun goddess, crops began to die and demons roamed the earth. To lure her out of the cave, another goddess performed a lewd dance outside the cave. Hearing the laughter of the gods, Amaterasu peeked out of the cave and saw herself in a mirror hung on a tree. Awed by her own beauty and brightness, she ventured farther out of the cave, where the other gods caught her and pulled her out. <ref>[http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/amaterasu.html Amaterasu]</ref> The story is reminiscent of the [[Greek]] legend of the abduction of Persephone by the [[god]] of the underworld, [[Hades]]. As her mother [[Demeter]], the goddess of the Earth, roamed in search of her daughter, crops withered in the fields and people suffered terribly.

'''Amaterasu''' is a mythical sun goddess in the ancient [[Japanese]] religion of [[Shinto|Shintoism]]. The most famous story about [[Amaterasu]] tells of her retreat to a cave when her brother the storm god ravaged the earth with storms. Without the sun goddess, crops began to die and demons roamed the earth. To lure her out of the cave, another goddess performed a lewd dance outside the cave. Hearing the laughter of the gods, Amaterasu peeked out of the cave and saw herself in a mirror hung on a tree. Awed by her own beauty and brightness, she ventured farther out of the cave, where the other gods caught her and pulled her out. <ref>[http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/amaterasu.html Amaterasu]</ref> The story is reminiscent of the [[Greek]] legend of the abduction of Persephone by the [[god]] of the underworld, [[Hades]]. As her mother [[Demeter]], the goddess of the Earth, roamed in search of her daughter, crops withered in the fields and people suffered terribly.

'''Hotei''' is the [[god]] of happiness and laughter and the wisdom of being content in Shinto [[Mythology]].<ref>[http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hotei.html Hotei]</ref>

'''Hotei''' is the [[god]] of happiness and laughter and the wisdom of being content in Shinto [[Mythology]].<ref>[http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hotei.html Hotei]</ref>

'''Izanagi''' is according to Shinto [[Mythology]], the primordial sky, the god of all that is light and heavenly.<ref>[http://www.pantheon.org/articles/i/izanagi.html Izanagi]</ref> Izanagi ("the male who invites") and his wife and sister [[Izanami]] ("the female who invites") are believed to have been given the task of creating the [[world]]. Standing on Ama-no-ukihashi (the floating bridge of the heavens), they are said to have plunged a jewel crested spear into the ocean. When they pulled it free, the water that dripped from the spear coagulated and formed the first island of the [[Japanese]] archipelago.  

'''Izanagi''' is according to Shinto [[Mythology]], the primordial sky, the god of all that is light and heavenly.<ref>[http://www.pantheon.org/articles/i/izanagi.html Izanagi]</ref> Izanagi ("the male who invites") and his wife and sister [[Izanami]] ("the female who invites") are believed to have been given the task of creating the [[world]]. Standing on Ama-no-ukihashi (the floating bridge of the heavens), they are said to have plunged a jewel crested spear into the ocean. When they pulled it free, the water that dripped from the spear coagulated and formed the first island of the [[Japanese]] archipelago.

 

==References==

==References==

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