The word shinto was derived from the Chinese shin tao, meaning "the way of the kami (gods)." It is an ancient Japanese religion and the practices began around 500 BC. It was originally a mix of nature worship, fertility cults, divination techniques, hero worship, and shamanism. It does not have its own moral code, but rather typically follows the code of Confucianism.
It does have the "Four Affirmations" though. These are:
Follows also "musushi," the Kami's creative and harmonizing powers, and they strive to be "makoto," sincere or pure of heart. They used to practice "misogi," the cleansing of the body in a nearby stream, before entering a shrine, but now they typically only wash their hands and rinse out their mouths. The shinto kami may be spiritual beings, objects of nature, forces of creativity, or even dead ancestors. Shinto has no absolutes- no right or wrong, and no one is perfect, including the kami. Humans are believed to have good intentions and bad things are caused by evil spirits. These spirits are kept at bay by rituals, prayers, purification, and offerings to the kami.
Priests may be male or female, and are allowed to marry and have children. The priests have aids, called miko. Miko wear white kimono and are unmarried girls, often the priests' daughters.
The religion has many creation myths. One story tells of the birth of the twins Izanagi-no-mikoto and Izanami-no-mikoto. These twins were meant to be lovers and created the islands of Japan with their love making. They also gave birth to many of the other Japanese deities, including Amaterasu, the sun goddess.
Amaterasu is the ancestress of the Imperial Family and is considered to be the most important kami. Here's an excerpt from an article on Pantheon.org.
"When her brother, the storm-god Susanowa, ravaged the earth she retreated to a cave because he was so noisy. She closed the cave with a large boulder. Her disappearance deprived the world of light and life. Demons ruled the earth. The other gods used everything in their power to lure her out, but to no avail. Finally it was Uzume who succeeded. The laughter of the gods when they watched her comical and obscene dances aroused Amaterasu's curiosity. When she emerged from her cave a streak of light escaped (a streak nowadays people call dawn). The goddess then saw her own brilliant reflection in a mirror which Uzume had hung in a nearby tree. When she drew closer for a better look, the gods grabbed her and pulled her out of the cave. She returned to the sky, and brought light back into the world.
Later, she created rice fields, called inada, where she cultivated rice. She also invented the art of weaving with the loom and taught the people how to cultivate wheat and silkworms.
Amaterasu's main sanctuary is Ise-Jingue situated on Ise, on the island of Honshu. This temple is pulled down every twenty years and then rebuild in its original form. In the inner sanctum she is represented by a mirror (her body). She is also called Omikami ("illustrious goddess") and Tensho Daijan (in Sino-Japanese pronunciation)."
Susano is famous for killing an evil, 9-headed serpent known as Orochi. This excerpt comes from Ancient-Mythology.com.
"Yamata no Orochi is a serpent-dragon in Japanese myth. The Orochi has eight heads and eight tails, and its enormous body reaches across eight valleys and eight hills. (You're probably noticing a pattern here.)
When Susano is in exile from the heavens, he finds a couple and their daughter crying by the river. They explain their sadness to him — that every year, the Orochi comes to devour one of their daughters. This year, they must give up their eigth and final daughter, Kusinada.
To save her, Susano proposes marriage to Kusinada. When she accepts, he transforms her into a comb which he can then carry in his hair. Kusinada's parents must brew sake, he explains, and refine it eight times. They must also build an enclosure with eight gates, each of which includes a vat of sake.
When the Orochi arrives, he is lured in towards the sake, and dips each of his heads into one of the vats. The drunken beast is now weakened and disoriented, allowing Susano to quickly slay it.
As Susano cuts the monster into pieces, he uncovers a great sword that had grown inside the Orochi. This blade, the Kusanagi, is presented to Amaterasu as a gift to reconcile their dispute."