Shinto
from a Chinese word, meaning the way of the gods, the religious belief of the people of Japan prior to in A. D. 552. The new belief almost entirely absorbed the old, being, however, itself modified in the process. possesses no moral code. Motoöri (1730- 1801) maintained that the will of the Mikado was the criterion of right and wrong. Shinto holds the Mikado to be the direct descendant and representative of the Sun goddess; has associated with it a system of hero worship, and attributes spiritual agencies to the powers of nature. Also, a Shintoist.