Read the original Twitter thread on Dr. Thomas's feed (@JolyonBT) or on his website: http://jolyon.thomasresearch.org/.

For more on the history and contemporary practices of Shinto, see:

1) Fabio Rambelli, ed. Spirits and Animism in Contemporary Japan: The Invisible Empire (Bloomsbury, forthcoming May 2019): https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/spirits-and-animism-in-contemporary-japan-9781350097094/

2) Jolyon Thomas, “Tongue in Cheek, Just in Case” (Sacred Matters): https://sacredmattersmagazine.com/tongue-in-cheek-just-in-case/ 

3) For background on Shintō, see Dr. Thomas's review: https://networks.h-net.org/node/20904/discussions/837862/review-jolyon-thomas-studies-shinto