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Like mainland Japanese Shinto, the native Ryukyuan religion is centered in large part around naturally sacred spaces. In Ryûkyû, these are called ''uganju'', and include sacred springs, small roadside altars, home altars, and sacred sites known as ''[[utaki]]''; ''utaki'' most often take the form of sacred groves of trees, rock outcroppings, or clearings amongst the trees. While some are marked off by stone walls and gates, others simply feature small stone markers at the center of the site. [[Sefa utaki]] in southern Okinawa is considered the most sacred on the island, though [[Sonohyan utaki]] on the site of [[Shuri castle]], being associated with the king, is also a highly sacred site. Certain islands and peaks are also sacred, [[Kudaka Island]] being perhaps the most important. Finally, as in many Pacific Islander religions, there is a belief in a land of the gods somewhere across the sea, from which sacredness emanates. In Ryûkyû, this land is called ''[[nirai kanai]]''.<ref>"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-42520-storytopic-121.html Nirai kanai]," ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.; Videos and exhibit displays, "Minzoku" (Folk Customs) exhibit, National Museum of Japanese History, Sakura, Chiba. Viewed July 2013. </ref> [[Miruku]], a Ryukyuan form of the Buddha Maitreya (J: ''[[Miroku]]''), is said to come from ''nirai kanai'' bringing ''[[yugafu|yugafû]]'' (good fortune); this is reenacted in numerous island festivals, with a villager often dressing as Miruku and paddling to shore from the sea.

Like mainland Japanese Shinto, the native Ryukyuan religion is centered in large part around naturally sacred spaces. In Ryûkyû, these are called ''uganju'', and include sacred springs, small roadside altars, home altars, and sacred sites known as ''[[utaki]]''; ''utaki'' most often take the form of sacred groves of trees, rock outcroppings, or clearings amongst the trees. While some are marked off by stone walls and gates, others simply feature small stone markers at the center of the site. [[Sefa utaki]] in southern Okinawa is considered the most sacred on the island, though [[Sonohyan utaki]] on the site of [[Shuri castle]], being associated with the king, is also a highly sacred site. Certain islands and peaks are also sacred, [[Kudaka Island]] being perhaps the most important. Finally, as in many Pacific Islander religions, there is a belief in a land of the gods somewhere across the sea, from which sacredness emanates. In Ryûkyû, this land is called ''[[nirai kanai]]''.<ref>"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-42520-storytopic-121.html Nirai kanai]," ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.; Videos and exhibit displays, "Minzoku" (Folk Customs) exhibit, National Museum of Japanese History, Sakura, Chiba. Viewed July 2013. </ref> [[Miruku]], a Ryukyuan form of the Buddha Maitreya (J: ''[[Miroku]]''), is said to come from ''nirai kanai'' bringing ''[[yugafu|yugafû]]'' (good fortune); this is reenacted in numerous island festivals, with a villager often dressing as Miruku and paddling to shore from the sea.

In the [[Amami Islands]], villages often had an open space known as a ''myaa'' (みゃー) in the center of the village, within which a hut known as an ''ashage'' or ''toneya'' was built to serve as a site for various ceremonial or spiritual activities performed by the villagers, or by the ''noro'' (priestesses) of the village on their behalf. It was also a place where preparations for festivals and other larger ceremonies could be conducted, and where fires could be safely started and managed, away from homes. Though most ''ashage'' or ''toneya'' were traditionally straw-thatched huts, many villages today use modern concrete buildings for this purpose.<ref>Gallery labels, ''Ashage'', Amami Nature and Culture Center, Amami Ôshima.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/49490488858/sizes/l/]</ref>

In the [[Amami Islands]], villages often had an open space known as a ''myaa'' (みゃー) in the center of the village, within which a hut known as an ''ashage'' or ''toneya'' was built to serve as a site for various ceremonial or spiritual activities performed by the villagers, or by the ''noro'' (priestesses) of the village on their behalf. It was also a place where preparations for festivals and other larger ceremonies could be conducted, and where fires could be safely started and managed, away from homes. Though most ''ashage'' or ''toneya'' were traditionally straw-thatched huts, many villages today use modern concrete ''kôminkan'' ("public hall") buildings for this purpose.<ref>Gallery labels, "Ashage," Amami Nature and Culture Center, Amami Ôshima.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/49490488858/sizes/l/]</ref>

 

Amami is also home to sacred mountains known as ''kamiyama'', linked to villages by narrow paths known as ''kami michi'' (spirit paths, or gods' roads). A typical ''kami michi'' may have been about one meter wide. It was traditionally believed that gods came from across the ocean and down the mountains in the 2nd month (of the [[Japanese calendar|traditional lunar calendar]]) each year to reside for a time in the village, returning in the 4th month.<ref>Gallery labels, "Kamimichi," Amami Nature and Culture Center, Amami Ôshima.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/49491198797/in/photostream/]</ref>

==Religious Hierarchy==

==Religious Hierarchy==