Japan, Honshu, Tokyo, Shinto blessing tied with rope around a tree trunk.

Japan, Kyoto, Yasaka jinja shrine, small shinto shrines in the shrine grounds.

Japan, Tokyo, Yoyog, Meiji Jingu shrine, wedding ceremony, bride and groom about thirty years old, in traditional kimono, flanked by familys.

Japan, Tokyo, Yoyogi - at Meiji Jingu shrine, a wedding party in procession, bride in traditional white wedding kimono in front with groom in traditional kimono, about thirty years old, familys in rea...

Japan, Tokyo, Yoyogi, Meiji Jingu shrine, a wedding party led by a shinto priest and two woman attendants , bride in traditional white wedding kimono, groom in traditional kimono, both about thirty ye...

Seated bride and groom and guests attending Shinto wedding ceremony wearing traditional dress before changing into western style clothes for later party.

Little girl holding the hand of a part seen guest at Shinto wedding ceremony wearing traditional dress printed with red and white squares and flowers and pale yellow sash.

Mount Koyosan. Shinto shrine in thick layer of snow over roof ground and surrounding trees. Shinto worship entails a belief in ancestor and nature spirits.

Yabusame mounted archery at Hachimangu shrine festival. Horseback archery has been a feature of the shrine s festival since the early days of the Kamakura period 1192-1333 and this rider wears a sa...

Sumo wrestler throwing handfuls of salt into the ring as an act of purification. Sumo has close asociations with the Shinto religion with fights taking place beneath a symbolic Shinto-style roof.

Gion District Yasaka Shrine. Performance of the Dance of the White Herons believed to have originated in the ninth century as a feature of Shinto rituals to rid Kyoto of disease remains part of the...

Gion District Yasaka Shrine. Performance of the Dance of the White Herons in outside courtyard watched by large crowd. Believed to have originated in the ninth century as a feature of Shinto ritual...