Final answer:
Shintoism is the Japanese religion that worships natural elements like trees, rivers, and rocks and celebrates the spirits known as kami. Other traditions like Daoism also venerate nature. During Japan's Kofun period, Buddhism and Shintoism were both practiced.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Japanese religion that worships the gods of nature, such as trees, rivers, and rocks is Shintoism. Shintoism includes the veneration of ancestors and the kami, which are divine forces such as spirits existing in plants, animals, rocks, places, and sometimes people. Sacred spaces in Shintoism are often marked by torii gates, and the religion itself is a woven tapestry of morality, attitudes, sensibilities, and rituals rather than based on a single sacred text. This connection to nature can be understood when considering the environments early peoples lived in, where the forces of nature would have profound impacts on their lives. Other religious traditions that hold nature in high esteem include Daoism in China, which emphasizes the veneration of nature and the cosmos, and various indigenous animist religions globally. During the Kofun period in Japan, both Buddhism and Shintoism were practiced concurrently, with Shinto practices often interweaving with Buddhist rituals.