Early Shintoism

For my first post, I'm not going to look specifically at women's roles, but rather at Japan's general religious history, to get a better understanding of Japan's major religions and their cultural significance. The focus therefore will be on the history of Shintoism in pre-Buddhist Japan, with a second post on religion in Japan after the introduction of Buddhism.
Although it is largely debated when exactly Shintoism emerged in Japan, it is notable that early Shinto ideas arose with rituals related to wet rice cultivation during the Yayoi period (300 BCE-300 CE), and Shintoism became more official with the introduction of centralized government during the early Yamato period, as a government office called the 'Ministry of Kami Affairs' was put in place to perform rituals on kami (Nobutaka). What precisely kami are differs by time period, sect of Shintoism, region of Japan, and even personal belief, but kami as a whole can be defined as nature spirits that ought to be worshiped and respected (Koremaru).
In theYamato district, rituals related to the sun goddess Amaterasu became key to the emperor's power, since he was both a political and spiritual authority (Nobutaka). It was important for the emperor to obey the messages spoken to him by the divine during kami possession, and communicate those ideas to his court, that was modeled after Amaterasu's court in heaven. This meant that the court included a priest, ablutioner, a shaman, and their corresponding families. As the imperial clan expanded, and integrated  smaller clans with different kami than that of the Amaterasu-dominant Yamato kingdom, it was vital for the shaman to help the emperor to communicate with kami of other clans (Kitagawa).

This 19th century woodblock print depicts Amaterasu emerging from a cave to fill the world with light (Sun Goddess...).