There is a strong relationship between Shinto ceremony and Japanese life from the era, Yayoi 300 BC to 300 AD, to now. From the Yayoi era to the Edo age, the farmer population was 85% of the Japanese people, and agriculture was the base of Japanese life. The existence of the agriculture guardian deity is very important to the rice crop. People worship the guardian deity, the spirit of Nature.
Industries evolved in the modern age, and the agricultural population slowly decreased. After World War 11 it quickly decreased. Today, agriculture is the principal occupation of only 2 or 3% of the Japanese people.
If agriculture continues to decrease, will Shinto become weak? On the one hand, even now many people go to shrines and pray for happiness in the new year. Before they build a house, they conduct a ground breaking ceremony. When a child is born, the parents go to the shrine to pray for its growth. Before they take an examination, they pray to pass it. When they buy a car, they pray for traffic safety at the shrine.
The style of worship has changed from ritual of agriculture to individual worship, because the Japanese life style has changed. Although the style of worship has changed, the Japanese people still express their gratitude to the great nature (Kami).
Tetsuji Ochiai