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Rating: 
Summary: Accurate, reputable, but just a start...
Review: As the author of this decades old volume takes pains to point out, Shinto is a hard subject to pin down. Because the shrines seen across Japan essentially grew out of the worship of thousands and thousands of separate divinites (most representing a different agricultural clan), there is no central scripture to follow in order to explain Shinto.That being said, this volume is accurate and written by a respected authority within the Shinto world. Thus, the trustworthy knowledge in this book would be a great addition to any travellers backpack in Japan. Shinto shrines are everywhere there, and this book goes some distance in uravelling these mysterious nature/god shrines. Another good thing about this book is it's non-indulgent, straightforward and unassuming style. Longtime Japan residents and first-time visitors are sure to get something out of it - whether it is the configuration of prayer papers, why prayers are tied to certain trees or why certain shrine buildings are built in one architectural fashion or another. The main drawback for me is that this book fails to give enough of an inventory (or pictures) of the major shinto divinities. I know there are thousands, maybe millions of these gods, but a small gallery of 50 or so would be both fascinating and revealing. A lesser drawback is the opaque way in which the author mentions but sidesteps Shinto's role in Japanese nationalism, while simultaneously suggesting that only Japanese people can fully be Shinto. But, in any case, this book is cheap enough and worth the effort if you spend any time in Japan. B+
Rating:
Summary: Good introduction
Review: OK, not many people have ever heard of Shinto. But it is an extremely ancient and complex faith based upon the creation of Japan. There is no "Bible" or sacred text. This book really provides a basic grasp of the belief. For those who have an interest in getting a head start toward understanding, this is a good book. Considering the limited information out there, you can't do much better.
Rating:
Summary: Good introduction
Review: OK, not many people have ever heard of Shinto. But it is an extremely ancient and complex faith based upon the creation of Japan. There is no "Bible" or sacred text. This book really provides a basic grasp of the belief. For those who have an interest in getting a head start toward understanding, this is a good book. Considering the limited information out there, you can't do much better.
Rating: 
Summary: Meet One of the Lesser Known Religions
Review: Shinto is one of those religions that usually gets short listed at the back of books on world religions, if it gets in at all, yet it's crucial to understanding some of the underlying currents in Japanese thinking and behavior. This work is a well organized, straight-forward introduction to the subject. The real explanatory gem, however, is found in chapter five, where Shinto beliefs on a number of key issues are both clearly and concisely outline, and contrasted with traditional Western views.
Rating:
Summary: A good introduction
Review: The text is a bit dry, but I recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a basic introduction to the rituals and beliefs of the Shinto religion. This religion is fascinating and really doesn't get the attention it deserves.
Rating:
Summary: a very good introduction
Review: this is not a book that will teach you how to run a shinto shrine, nor is it a scholastic examination of the religion. it is a basic introduction to the native religion of japan. that said, if you read this book, you'll probably understand shinto about as well as any lay person in japan. very informative, includes pictures and diagrams.
Rating:
Summary: a very good introduction
Review: this is not a book that will teach you how to run a shinto shrine, nor is it a scholastic examination of the religion. it is a basic introduction to the native religion of japan. that said, if you read this book, you'll probably understand shinto about as well as any lay person in japan. very informative, includes pictures and diagrams.
Rating:
Summary: It has its flaws, but its well worth a read
Review: This is perhaps the best known (and most widely available)introductory treatise of the Shinto religion. While Ono's The Kami Way certainly deserves its notoriety, those who wish a deeper philosophical coverage of this poorly understood religion will be a bit disappointed, for Dr. Ono really just scratches the surface and seldom goes beyond the topics of shrine architecture, ceremonial trappings, and local and national shrine administration. The mythology/cosmology of Shinto is briefly addressed, and I believe that the average western reader will find the nature of Shinto even more perplexing after reading this book for that very reason: Ono calls Shinto "a religion without theology", but no religion is without theology, regardless of how ancient it is (for example, I would have found a few examples of instances of local nature spirits being transformed into Buddhist saints most informative). For those totally unfamiliar with Shinto, I will make this rough comparison: imagin if the ancient European pagan religions had survived the Christian domination of the late Middle Ages and continued to exist in organized forms, occasionally incorporating Christian concepts into their own respective worldviews and religious ceremonies (as Shinto did to a limited extent with the imported Buddhist religion). Despite its scant coverage of actual religious matters, The Kami Way lucidly describes the mundane matters of this faith's temporal administration (and provides much coverage of shrine conditions and inter-provincial/national relations, with an emphasis on comparison between standards before and after World War Two). I highly reccommend this book as an introduction for the curious.
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