The word “Shinto” is made up of two hieroglyphs, which are translated as “way of the gods.” The word was first used in 720 in the imperial chronicle Nihongi (Annals of Japan), which said: “The Emperor believed in the teachings of the Buddha and revered the way of the gods.” The choice of the word “path” is not accidental: unlike Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism and other religions that honor their founders and are therefore called “teaching” in Japanese, Shinto was never created by anyone. This is exactly the way. Shinto is considered inseparably from Japanese history, in most of its aspects and manifestations - both in terms of structure and in terms of historical transformations that arise when interacting with other religious traditions. Japanese mythology and kami deities, Shinto shrines and mysticism in Shinto , demons and spirits - A. A. Nakorchevsky (Keo University, Tokyo) talks about all this fascinatingly, combining the popularity of the presentation of the material with the scientific rigor of the approach to it. The first edition of the book became a bestseller and was awarded numerous reviews, reviews and diplomas. The second edition, as usual, is corrected and expanded.