Ki'ism
A religion that focuses on animism which is the national religion of Chugoku.
Culture
Ki'ism is characterized by a belief that everything has a spirit, called its kami, that should be revered. Kami are worshipped at various small shrines, including family shrines, gravesites, and jinja (public shrines). The latter are staffed by priests, known as kannushi, who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific kami enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and kami and to solicit the latter's blessing. Other common rituals include the kagura dances, rites of passage, and kami festivals. Public shrines facilitate forms of divination and supply religious objects, such as amulets, to the religion's adherents.
Ki'ism places a major conceptual focus on ensuring purity, largely by cleaning practices such as ritual washing and bathing, especially before worship. Little emphasis is placed on specific moral codes or particular afterlife beliefs, although the dead are deemed capable of becoming kami. The religion has no single creator or specific doctrine, and instead exists in a diverse range of local and regional forms.
Public Agenda
cultivate harmony between humans and kami
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