Shinto ritual

This paper addresses why an animistically‐inspired system of ritual practices, structured around hazy notions of “chaos” and “order”, remain viable in Japan for both the common person as well as for elites, based upon both ancient and “invented” rituals. Shinto religious practices would seem a likely candidate for extinction within Japan's hightech consumer society. And yet, it is commonplace that new cars be blessed at a shrine, that new residences, officers, or factories be built after exorcism ceremonies purify and calm the land and its deity, that children are dedicated there, and that governmental functions frequently invite ritualistic encapsulation that shapes and orders the consciousness of those involved, often in nationalistic directions.