Shinto is the term for a set of indigenous shamanic beliefs representing the Japanese conception of the cosmos, and combining nature and ancestor worship. Shinto priests traditionally dress in hemp robes. Hemp is associated with purity, and hemp cloth, ropes and fibres are used at most Shinto shrines. Hemp cloth also features in ceremonial offerings associated with the Japanese imperial family, including the accession rites (daijosai) of each new emperor. Apart from this grand ritual, performed only once in each reign, one of the main Shinto rituals is called taima (hemp), held five times a year to honour Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun.