Ask the Kojiki, the oldest chronicle of Japan, in Chamberlain's English. Related books are here too. Ask about the kami, the sacred spirits of Shinto. Ask how things began, or about ritual. You get real passages, with sources.
3,235 passages here to read and ask.
1 THE EMPEROR TENCHI TENCHI TENNŌ Aki no ta no Kari ho no iho no Toma wo arami Waga koromode wa Tsuyu ni nure-tsutsu. OUT in the fields this autumn day They're busy reaping grain ; I sought for shelter ’neath this roof, But fear I sought in vain,— My sleeve is wet with rain. The Emperor Tenchi reigned from A.D. ...
"That way Over the mountain, which who stands upon Is apt to doubt if it be indeed a road; While if he views it from the waste itself, Up goes the line there, plain from base to brow, Not vague, mistakable! What's a break or two Seen from the unbroken deserts either side? ...