Shinto shrines abound in Japan, and most Japanese take part in one or another Shinto ceremony over the course of a year. Although Shinto is not a missionary religion, Shinto now has an international ...

Mostly half-naked men with just white loincloth around their hips and several women in white robes joined the annual cold endurance ritual at the Kanda Myojin, a Shinto shrine in downtown Tokyo.

The Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership was formed in 1969 as an affiliate of the Association of Shinto Shrines, an influential group representing about 80,000 shrines nationwide.

Shrine parishioners throw icy cold water on themselves during the annual cold-endurance festival at Kanda Myojin Shinto shrine in Tokyo, on Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) TOKYO (AP ...