The indigenous religion of Japan, Shinto, is a polytheistic nature worship. Anything which evokes a feeling of awe is revered as being particularly imbued with divine or mysterious power; the forces of nature; trees, mountains, ancestors, heroes, and others are all objects of worship. These are given the name kami. The Japanese approach kami in an aura of intimacy. They feel love and gratitude and the desire to console and placate, or so I have read. The worshipper usually faces the object of devotion itself, perhaps a tree, stone, or even a sunrise, and simply stands quietly and bows to its presence — maybe lights a stick of incense or a candle.
— David G. Hackett, The Silent Dialogue