Yamakage was a Shinto priest in a lineage going back generations, and this is an insider’s explanation for outsiders. Kami as presence rather than deity. Purification as the central practice and why it matters more than belief. The shrine, the torii, the rope and the paper. Ceremonies through the year, the household altar, ancestors. He’s clear that Shinto has no founder, no scripture, and no doctrine to sign up to, which is exactly what makes it hard to explain, and he keeps returning to the idea that it’s a way of relating to the natural world rather than a religion in the Western sense.
The Essence of Shinto