Beginning in the clans and families of historic Japan, seasonal agricultural rites were celebrated. Spirits or kami residing in natural things provided a pervasive spiritual atmosphere. Shinto moved through a time of state religion. Today the emphasis is on local, nature based religious observance. Shrines host ritual observances, rites of passage, and festivals.
Every shrine has at least one torii - a special gateway.
It signifies the boundary between the secular world and the sacred. Purification rituals grow out of a concern over continuity, balance and purity in life.