It is a Japan-specific religion combining various religions, such as Buddhism, Taoism, Onmyodo (the way of Yin and Yang, an occult divination system based on the Taoist theory of the five elements) with Kannabi (an old form of Shintoism) and Iwakura (a form of mountain worship) in which a life or divine spirit is considered to reside in everything.
森羅万象に命や神霊が宿るとする、古神道の一つである神奈備（かむなび）や磐座（いわくら）という山岳信仰と仏教、道教、陰陽道などが習合して確立した日本独特の宗教である。