form of the Shintō religion of Japan that focusses on worship in public shrines, in contrast to folk and sectarian practices (see Kyōha Shintō); the successor to State Shintō, the nationalistic cult disbanded by decree of the Allied occupation forces at the end of World War II and subsequently in the Japanese constitution. More than 80,000 shrines, nearly all of those formerly administered by the government, have formed themselves into an Association of Shintō Shrines (Jinja Honchō). They no longer receive financial support from the government but are dependent on private contributions for their maintenance and for the support of their priests.