Kami means god or spirit, and dana means shelf. She wanted me to know that otherwise they seldom bothered with it. But, she did mention that if some difficulty came up in their lives, something that they could not take care of themselves, then they would go to the kamidana and pray for more power. Even though Japanese people are quite secular and humanistic, they keep the door open to receive supernatural power when humanism fails. He is aware of his bad thoughts and attitudes.
Shrines often have a pool with running water.
A worshiper can wash his hands and rinse his mouth to cleanse himself before worship. That is true cleansing, not just symbolism. This is the prayer that Buddhists make as they sway forward and back in meditation. The stillness, peace, and restfulness of the Christian comes because his heart is in agreement with God, because his mind has been disciplined with truth. To us Christians, who know a God of the strongest love, the strongest emotion in the universe, the thought of worshiping a hard, unfeeling idol is incomprehensible and ludicrous.