I have not read “Six Ways.” I did a quick search on it and it certainly looks right up my alley. I just put it on my list of books to buy.
The Shinto question is a little more complicated. If you are approaching Shintoism as a way to study an advanced and long-standing animistic system, yes, absolutely Shintoism can be a good example. While Shintoism does not require initiation, it is extremely Japanese-centric, to the point where Shintoism considers Japan as the “holy land” of their religion. Some would say you can’t really practice Shintoism outside of Japan, though that’s a conservative attitude. One can also say of Shintoism, like other animist based faiths, that it is highly accepting of other religions and doesn’t require its followers to adhere to one set of beliefs and practices. I would even say that the Japanese word “Kami” is closest to how I use the term “spirit” in that it encompasses a range of beings from gods to land spirits.
Thanks for the questions. They really got me thinking. I haven’t studied Japanese religions since college and now I want to go back to that material.