Good information on Shinto here. However, in addition to the traditions surrounding Buddhism and Shinto, another Japanese mystical tradition is that of "shugendo", which embraces a more elemental worldview, something any L5R fans out there are doubtless familiar with. This elemental form of Japanese magic has much in common with wuxing, and would account for the seemingly unique system reputedly practiced by the infamous ninja clans of Japan. Here's a quick overview:
Magical Info: Shugendo
Traditional Japanese form of wuxing based on the five elemental "rings" of Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and the Void. Practicioners of shugendo (called "shugenja") gain the ability to summon ancestor spirits from the Void ring, but, as there is no Wood element in ring magic, they must choose between summoning manitous and summoning spirits of Man.
Fire: Combat and salamanders (opposes Void)
Water: Health and undines (opposes Fire)
Air: Illusion and sylphs (opposes Earth)
Earth: Manipulation and gnomes (opposes Water)
Void: Detection and ancestor spirits (opposes Air)
Spell-learning and summoning function identically to wuxing, but have stylistic differences. For instance, paper-based libraries are typically made up of scrolls, rather than tomes. Meditation is central to the practice, and, in the ninjutsu tradition of shugendo, kuji-kiri (a form of gesture) is a common geas. Just thought I'd toss it out so the thread wasn't ALL Shinto-related