Shinto approaches care for the environment not through abstract doctrine, but through a lived sense that the natural world is already sacred. Kami are understood to dwell in mountains, rivers, trees, rocks, and other natural phenomena, so the landscape itself becomes a field of divine presence. To harm or desecrate such places is not merely imprudent; it is a form of spiritual disrespect that can disturb the relationship between humans and the kami. This worldview encourages reverence rather than domination, and it frames nature not as a neutral resource but as a partner in a reciprocal relationship.

A central expression of this attitude appears in the shrine forests known as *chinju no mori*. These sacred groves, preserved as the dwelling places of particular kami, have historically been protected from cutting and development. As a result, they function as informal sanctuaries where ecosystems and old-growth trees can endure under the shelter of religious practice. The designation of certain mountains, springs, or forests as sacred similarly creates zones where conservation arises naturally from veneration, rather than from legal regulation alone.

The Shinto concern for purity and avoidance of pollution further shapes its approach to natural harmony. Ritual purity (*kiyome*) and the removal of defilement (*kegare*) are not limited to personal or social life; visible filth and environmental degradation can also be understood as forms of impurity. Polluting rivers, forests, or the air is thus seen as spiritually defiling, and purification rites such as *harai* and *misogi* symbolically restore balance with the kami. This emphasis encourages practices that maintain cleanliness and order in the natural surroundings, reinforcing an ethic of care.

Seasonal festivals and agricultural rites deepen this orientation by continually turning attention back to the rhythms of the natural world. Rice-planting ceremonies, harvest celebrations, and other *matsuri* express gratitude for nature’s bounty and acknowledge dependence on forces beyond human control. Through these recurring observances, communities cultivate humility, restraint, and a sense of taking only what is needed, which aligns with sustainable use of resources. The overall pattern is an ethic of living in harmony with natural cycles and forces, where environmental conservation emerges organically from reverence for the kami and the spaces they inhabit.