Yes, Neo‑Shintoism can be practiced by someone who is not Japanese, particularly when it is approached as a philosophical or spiritual interpretation rather than as an ethnic or national identity. While classical shrine Shinto is historically intertwined with Japanese land, community, and ancestry, Neo‑Shinto currents tend to emphasize principles that are not bound to a single culture: reverence for nature and the kami, purity, harmony, sincerity, and gratitude. In this more universalized form, there is no doctrinal requirement of Japanese ethnicity in order to honor the kami, recite prayers, or cultivate a Shinto‑inspired ethical sensibility. Some modern interpretations explicitly present Shinto ideas as accessible to people of any nationality, and certain groups even welcome international adherents.

For a non‑Japanese practitioner, engagement often takes the form of daily reverence and ethical cultivation rather than strict replication of every Japanese ritual detail. This might include maintaining a small home space dedicated to the kami, aligning seasonal observances with the rhythms of the local environment, and consciously nurturing purity of body and mind, gratitude, and harmonious relations with others and with nature. Study of Shinto thought—such as ideas of interconnectedness, sincerity of heart, and creative generative power—can provide a philosophical framework that supports such practice without claiming full participation in institutional shrine life in Japan. In this way, Neo‑Shintoism functions less as a closed ethnic tradition and more as a spiritual lens through which to encounter the sacred.

At the same time, a serious approach calls for cultural sensitivity and a clear awareness of Shinto’s historical and cultural roots. Respectful practitioners seek to understand the tradition’s development, including its close ties to Japanese society and its more problematic uses in the past, so as not to repeat or trivialize them. Care is taken not to appropriate symbols or speak as though one represents Shinto as a whole, but rather to acknowledge a personal, philosophically oriented practice inspired by it. When undertaken with study, sincerity, and humility, such Neo‑Shinto practice by non‑Japanese seekers can remain both authentic to their own lives and respectful toward the tradition from which it draws.