Religion in Japanese History Shinto was the earliest Japanese religion, its obscure beginnings dating back at least to the middle of the first millennium B.C. Until the sixth century A.D., when the Japanese began a period of rapid adoption of continental civilization, it existed as an amorphous mix of nature worship, fertility cults, divination techniques, hero worship, and shamanism. The word Shinto, or "the Way of the kami (gods or spirits)," came into …showed first 75 words of 1550 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1550 total…were eventually simplified so that they appealed to even uneducated people. For example, devotion to the Lotus sutra made the scripture into a talisman, and people believed that if its verses were recited to even a beast, the creature could be reborn in a better life. The chanting of Amida's name began as an aid to contemplation, but turned first into a magic charm, then into a simple sign of faith in the Buddha's compassion.