Early in “Your Name,” the anime blockbuster that’s conquered Japan, China, and the rest of Asia, a high-school girl named Mitsuha performs a ritual dance at her family’s Shinto shrine.

During New Year's, people also visit Shinto shrines to pray for the coming year. ... the hatsumode of rural Ibaraki Prefecture is being promoted with an anime style miko, or shrine maiden.

And Kaitlyn’s research shows that some Shinto practitioners gravitate toward anime that prominently feature real-world Shinto shrines and rituals, participating in a sort of “virtual ...

Almost weekly Momo Nomura makes time to visit Shinto shrines. She performs the prescribed rituals — cleansing her hands, ringing a bell, bowing and clapping. But her main purpose is getting a ...