Shimenawa in the context of Straw

Kamidana (神棚, lit. 'god/spirit-shelf') are miniature household altars provided to enshrine a Shinto kami. They are most commonly found in Japan, the home of kami worship.

The kamidana is typically placed high on a wall and contains a wide variety of items related to Shinto-style ceremonies, the most prominent of which is the shintai, an object meant to house a chosen kami, thus giving it a physical form to allow worship. Kamidana shintai are most commonly small circular mirrors, though they can also be magatama jewels, or some other object with largely symbolic value. The kami within the shintai is often the deity of the local shrine or one particular to the house owner's profession. A part of the kami (bunrei) was obtained specifically for that purpose from a shrine through a process called kanjō.

Himorogi (神籬; lit. "divine fence") in Shinto terminology are sacred spaces or altars used to worship. In their simplest form, they are square areas with green bamboo or sakaki at the corners without architecture. These in turn support sacred ropes (shimenawa) decorated with streamers called shide. A branch of sakaki or some other evergreen at the center acts as a yorishiro, a physical representation of the presence of the kami, a being which is in itself incorporeal.

During the Aoi Festival in Kyoto the himorogi is a square space surrounded by green branches with an evergreen tree at the center as a yorishiro. A more elaborate himorogi can also be made with a straw mat on the ground with on it a ceremonial 8-legged stand called an hassoku-an (八足案; eight leg an) decorated with shimenawa and sacred emblems.

A yorishiro (依り代/依代/憑り代/憑代) in Shinto terminology is an object capable of attracting spirits called kami, thus giving them a physical space to occupy during religious ceremonies. Yorishiro are used during ceremonies to call the kami for worship. The word itself literally means "approach substitute". Once a yorishiro actually houses a kami, it is called a shintai. Ropes called shimenawa decorated with paper streamers called shide often surround yorishiro to make their sacredness manifest. Persons can play the same role as a yorishiro, and in that case are called yorimashi (憑坐, lit. 'possessed person') or kamigakari (神懸り/神憑, lit. 'kami possession').

Shide (紙垂, 四手) are zigzag-shaped paper streamers, often seen attached to shimenawa or tamagushi to demarcate holy spaces, and used in Shinto rituals in Japan. They are usually found adorning doorways, shrine buildings, and kamidana.

The origins of shide are traced to the yūshide, a thread made from the bark of Broussonetia × kazinoki mentioned in the Kojiki. There are different styles of folding shide. One method requires placing the paper zigzags in a cut slit on a stick, creating a ritual object known as a gohei or heihaku. A gohei is an offering to kami that can be seen on kamidana altars and inside the main building of a Shinto shrine.

A shinboku (神木) is a tree or forest worshipped as a shintai – a physical object of worship at or near a Shinto shrine, worshipped as a repository in which spirits or kami reside. They are often distinctly visible due to the shimenawa wrapped around them.

The related term goshingi refers to trees that are considered sacred or divine in the precincts of Shinto shrines and jingū of Shinto, as well as the forests that surround them and trees that are not grown for logging. It also refers to trees that are owned by shrines or by private individuals and have a special origin in folklore. It may also refer to trees that have been specially cut down for planting or growing wild to be used as timber for the construction of shrines.