"Shinto gods" are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Humans become kami after they die and are revered by their families as ancestral kami.
In contrast to many monotheist religions, there are no absolutes in Shinto. There is no absolute right and wrong, and nobody is perfect. Shinto can relate to post-modernism, there's no specific rule or guide to follow, and there are no absolute answers to our questions. Shinto is an optimistic faith, as humans are thought to be fundamentally good, and evil is believed to be caused by evil spirits. Consequently, the purpose of most Shinto rituals is to keep away evil spirits by purification, prayers and offerings to the kami.
One of the biggest differences between Shinto and other religions is that Shinto encourages people to learn and take the positiveness from other religions. Back when Buddhism was first introduced into Japan, there was a religious fight between the two beliefs, however, they eventually integrated into one and developed a new model to fit the people, fit the time period, and fits with the culture. Because of this spirit, the culture of Japan not only has the wisdom from Japanese ancients, but also the intelligent from eastern and western cultures and that is one of the reasons why Japan, a little country on an island, can be so shine to the world. Shinto's characteristics are a lot like post-modernism in this way, where it's ideologies are developed from the effects of the culture around it and it is altered by the ever changing world.
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