Shintoism is the traditional religion of Japan and a form of animism. Shintoism believes that there are many gods and nature spirits known as kami, with some being the spirits of certain places, and other being overall gods. The Sun goddess Amaterasu is seen as the holiest of all Shinto kami. State Shinto was the main religion of Japan before World War II; the Japanese government used Shinto for propaganda purposes from 1868 to 1945. During this time period, Japanese were forced to register with their local shrine (all Shinto priests worked for the government), and war was seen as a sacred duty, while the Emperor of Japan was seen as a god. After the war's end, the Emperor of Japan was forced to renounce his divinity, and Shintoism was no longer centered on worshipping the state. Today, some people mix Shinto and Buddhist beliefs.
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