I watched "The Peach Orchard" it was really interesting and I definitely saw some of the aspects of Shinto culture that we learned about in the film.
Shinto traditions emphasize respect of the kami and in this film the little boy's parents had not respected the Peach Orchard kami by cutting down all the trees in their grove. It is demonstrated how important this is when the spirits of the orchard bring forth the little boy to show him the destruction his family had caused. This also served as punishment for with this visit they informed him they would never return again and he would never be able to see the beauty of the orchard in blossom again. As we have learned Shinto ethics consider it a sin to destroy any kind of shrine to the kami, from this I assume that it was also considered a sin to cut down the trees which contained the spirits of the orchard kami. Early in the film the boy fixates on the (spirit) dolls of the house before encountering the real spirits in the field, I suspect that when they informed him they would never come back they also meant that they would no longer be watching over the little boy and his family, which reinforces the lesson in Shinto ethics.
