Shinto religious expressions have been distinguished by scholars into a series of categories:[15]<\/p>\n
Shrine Shinto (\u795e\u793e\u795e\u9053 Jinja-Shint\u014d), the main tradition of Shinto, has always been a part of Japan’s history. It consists of taking part in worship practices and events at local shrines. Before the Meiji Restoration, shrines were disorganized institutions usually attached to Buddhist temples; in the Meiji Restoration, they were made independent systematized institutions. The current successor to the imperial organization system, the Association of Shinto Shrines, oversees about 80,000 shrines nationwide.<\/p>\n
Imperial Household Shinto (\u7687\u5ba4\u795e\u9053 K\u014dshitsu-Shint\u014d) are the religious rites performed exclusively by the imperial family at the three shrines on the imperial grounds, including the Ancestral Spirits Sanctuary (K\u014drei-den) and the Sanctuary of the Kami (Shin-den).[16]<\/p>\n
Folk Shinto (\u6c11\u4fd7\u795e\u9053 Minzoku-Shint\u014d) includes the numerous folk beliefs in deities and spirits. Practices include divination, spirit possession, and shamanic healing. Some of their practices come from Buddhism, Taoism or Confucianism, but most come from ancient local traditions.<\/p>\n
Sect Shinto (\u6559\u6d3e\u795e\u9053 Ky\u014dha-Shint\u014d) is a legal designation originally created in the 1890s to separate government-owned shrines from local organised religious communities. These communities originated especially in the Edo period. The basic difference between Shrine Shinto and Sect Shinto is that sects are a later development and grew self-consciously. They can identify a founder, a formal set of teachings and even sacred scriptures. Sect Shinto groups are thirteen, and usually classified under five headings: pure Shinto sects (Shinto Taikyo, Shinrikyo and Izumo Oyashirokyo), Confucian sects (Shinto Shusei-ha and Taiseikyo\/\u4f53\u5236\u6559 ),mountain worship sects (Jikkokyo, Fusokyo and Mitakekyo or Ontakekyo), purification sects (Shinshukyo and Misogikyo), and faith-healing sects (Kurozumikyo\uff0f\u9ed2\u4f4f\u6559, Konkokyo\/\u4eca\u6545\u90f7 and its branching Omotokyo\/\u304a\u5143\u6559\u5e2b and Tenrikyo\uff0f\u5929\u7406\u6559.[17]<\/p>\n
Koshint\u014d (\u53e4\u795e\u9053 Ko-shint\u014d), literally ‘Old Shinto’, is a reconstructed “Shinto from before the time of Buddhism”, today based on Ainu religion and Ryukyuan practices. It continues the restoration movement begun by Hirata Atsutane.<\/p>\n
Many other sects and schools can be distinguished.[18] Faction Shinto (\u5b97\u6d3e\u795e\u9053 Sh\u016bha-Shint\u014d) is a grouping of Japanese new religions developed since the second half of the 20th century that have significantly departed from traditional Shinto and are not always regarded as part of it.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t