1.Although the origins of Shinto1 can be traced to the pre-historic times, this uniquely Japanese religion did not have a historical founder, a fixed dogma, moral precepts, sacred writings, holy places for worship, or even a name during its early history. It emerged naturally within the historical development of an indigenous culture and in a relatively insulated environment of closely-located islands. Japan, however, could not remain isolated from foreign influence, especially that of its giant neighbor, China, which had a highly developed civilization. The relatively unsophisticated Shinto philosophy was soon confronted with the formidable Chinese doctrines of Confucianism, Taoism, and in particular, Buddhism2. Faced with the onslaught of the clearly advanced culture of the Chinese, the Japanese felt intimidated, but were equally determined to keep their separate identity marked by their own religion. Hence it was only in the late 6th century AD that the name "Shinto" was created for the hitherto un-named native religion of Japan. These 'foreign' forces also prompted the Japanese to define the Shinto religion in more concrete terms and helped to lift Shinto, from the level of an animistic cult to a proper religion. For example, it was only in reaction to the sophistication of the Buddhism and its scriptures that the existing Japanese myths and legends were compiled into written record (Satoshi et al., 2003).
             2.Defining Shinto or Shintoism is a notoriously difficult task. The difficulty arises from the fact that Shinto is an 'indigenous religion' that emerged naturally over a long period of time in the Japanese culture and absorbed the influences of a number of religions as well as their rituals, doctrines, and philosophies. Due to this rather nebulous nature of Shinto, it is sometimes categorized as merely a "cult" rather than a "religion" while others consider it as no more than...