For centuries, animals have been worshipped by cultures around the world. Some, such as deer, are even considered sacred in ...

After warm up runs and chants to the purification goddess Haraedo no Okami, they poured water over themselves with wooden ...

ISE, Japan — Deep in the forests of the Japanese Alps, Shinto priests keep watch as woodsmen dressed in ceremonial white chop their axes into two ancient cypress trees, timing their swings so that ...

Faithfuls and tourists gathered around a pool at the Ise Jingu shrine to cleanse themselves by washing their hands and rinsing their mouths before proceeding to make prayers to goddess Omikami. (PHOTO ...

(RNS) — Shinto rituals in “Your Name.” Daoist sorcery in “Cardcaptor Sakura.” Chakras in “Naruto.” And oh, that one time Moses parted the Red Sea with a Beyblade in “Beyblade: Metal Fusion.” Japanese ...

Video. The annual Kanchu Misogi ritual saw around 100 worshippers plunge into icy water at a Tokyo shrine on Sunday.