The per capita income for the village was $18,389. About 5.5% of families and 9.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.
Shinto plays a ceremonial role in daily Japanese life as opposed to an important role. Why is the ceremonial assumed to be unimportant? Others might say that ritual and tradition are the heart of a culture, and the fact that even being a Christian can't dissuade your coworker from shrine worship is clear evidence of the importance of Shinto to Japanese culture.
Shinto (the way of the gods) is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people and as old as Japan itself. It remains Japan's major religion alongside Buddhism.