Shinto Symbol: How to make one and its meaning. Shinto shrines are covered in pieces of paper, often zigzag strips of paper. They hang from the rice straw ropes （shimenawa 注連縄） that mark a sacred site. They are attached to the sacred branches that people give as an offering in Shinto ceremonies (tamagushi 玉串). They are used as a tool for purification, when swung to and frow in bulk at the end of a wand （大幣/祓い串). They stand next to mirrors at shrines as gohei. In addition the the zig zag strips however, there are other pieces of paper that Shrines give out, specifically the pieces of paper that people take home to put in their household shrines (ofudaお札）, and the pieces of paper that are contained inside Shinto lucky charms (omamoriお守り). It seems to me that essentially they are all the same, the vector for the sacred symbols of Shinto. When they are in their zig-zag form, the form which is usually given to shrines, they have yet to have been cut or torn into their individual form for distribution to worshippers as sacred tags (fuda札) or lucky charms (omamori). This video shows you how to make the zigzag strips and how I propose they were originally used, to create strips of paper for distribution to the faithful. I think that Shinto is a form of totemism, that is to say, a religion that structures distributes a certain type of sign. Levi-Strauss redefined totemism as "savage thought" or "bricolage," (DIY), the use of things to hand, things in the world to signify their gods *and themselves*. The importance of this observation is that it provides a hint to a non logocentric (i.e. hearing yourself speak) form of self. The problem with this interpretation is that, while Levi-Strauss concentrates on the use of natural articles for thought, he does mention the use of manufactured articles (such as gourds) used as totems, and even mythical articles (mythical creatures) used for totems. This considered, the distinction between "savage thought" and Western thought using mental images of phonemes becomes very vague. If Shinto is a form of totemism then it has moved beyond using solely natural articles to using seals printed on pieces of paper. In what sense if any are such symbols part of the word and more than phonemes are part of the word? I suggest that these symbols, that are organised, distributed and valued by the Shinto religion are above all visual. That visual signs can mean by themselves without the vector of the phoneme is argued persuasively by Hansen (1993) but runs directly against the Western tradition (Barthes, 1977) and is attacked vociferously by scholars such as Unger (1990). There is strong evidence to suggest that these strips of paper evolved from the use of branches and leaves as is recorded in the ethnology of Kunio Yanagita, and is suggested by the form of the tamagushi, which I suggest are the old form of the Shinto symbol (a branch) combined with new (the zig zag strips shown in this video). Barthes, R. (1977). Elements of Semiology. Hill and Wang. Hansen, C. (1993). Chinese Ideographs and Western Ideas. The Journal of Asian Studies, 52(02), 373--399. doi:10.2307/2059652 Unger, J. M. (1990). The Very Idea. The Notion of Ideogram in China and Japan. Monumenta Nipponica, 45(4), 391--411. Yamada, T. (n.d.). Shinto Symbols. Contemporary Religions in Japan, 7(2), 89--142. 柳田国男. (1990). 神樹篇-柳 田国男全集.