are the
deities
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
,
divinities
Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.[divine ...](_blank)
, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the spirits of venerated dead people. Many ''kami'' are considered the ancient ancestors of entire
clans
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
(some ancestors became ''kami'' upon their death if they were able to embody the values and
virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
s of ''kami'' in life). Traditionally, great leaders like the
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
could be or became ''kami''.
In Shinto, ''kami'' are not separate from nature, but are of nature, possessing positive and negative, and
good and evil
In religion, ethics, philosophy, and psychology "good and evil" is a very common dichotomy. In cultures with Manichaean and Abrahamic religious influence, evil is perceived as the dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, in which good shoul ...
characteristics. They are manifestations of ,
the interconnecting energy of the universe, and are considered exemplary of what humanity should strive towards. ''Kami'' are believed to be "hidden" from this world, and inhabit a complementary existence that mirrors our own: .
To be in harmony with the awe-inspiring aspects of nature is to be conscious of .
Etymology
![Amaterasu cave crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Amaterasu_cave_crop.jpg)
''Kami'' is the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
word for a deity, divinity, or spirit. It has been used to describe
mind
The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...
, God, supreme being, one of the Shinto deities, an
effigy
An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...
, a
principle
A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a Legal rule, rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, suc ...
, and anything that is worshipped.
Although ''deity'' is the common interpretation of ''kami'', some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term.
Some etymological suggestions are:
* ''Kami'' may, at its root, simply mean ''spirit'', or an aspect of spirituality. It is written with the kanji , Sino-Japanese reading ''shin'' or ''jin''. In Chinese, the character means ''deity''.
* In the
Ainu language
Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu, is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isolate ...
, the word ''
kamuy'' refers to an
animistic
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hum ...
concept very similar to Japanese ''kami''. The matter of the words' origins is still a subject of debate; but it is generally suggested that the word ''kami'' is a loanword from early Japanese that was adopted by the Ainu.
* In his ''
Kojiki
The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...
-den'',
Motoori Norinaga gave a definition of ''kami'': "...any being whatsoever which possesses some eminent quality out of the ordinary, and is awe-inspiring, is called kami."
Because Japanese does not normally distinguish
grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, adjectives and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions (such as "one", "two" or "three or more"). English and other languages present number categories of ...
in
noun
A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for:
* Living creatures (including people, alive, d ...
s (the singular and plural forms of nouns in Japanese are the same), it is sometimes unclear whether ''kami'' refers to a single or multiple entities. When a singular concept is needed, is used as a
suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...
. The
reduplicated term generally used to refer to multiple ''kami'' is ''kamigami''.
History
While Shinto has no founder, no overarching doctrine, and no religious texts, the ''
Kojiki
The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...
'' (Records of Ancient Matters), written in 712 CE, and the ''
Nihon Shoki ''(Chronicles of Japan), written in 720 CE, contain the earliest record of Japanese creation myths. The ''Kojiki'' also includes descriptions of various ''kami''.
In the ancient traditions there were five defining characteristics of ''kami'':
# ''Kami'' are of two minds. They can nurture and love when respected, or they can cause destruction and disharmony when disregarded. ''Kami'' must be appeased in order to gain their favor and avoid their wrath. Traditionally, ''kami'' possess two
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
s, one gentle (''
nigi-mitama'') and the other assertive (''
ara-mitama''); additionally, in ''Yamakage Shinto'' (see ''
Ko-Shintō''), ''kami'' have two additional souls that are hidden: one happy (''saki-mitama'') and one mysterious (''kushi-mitama'').
# ''Kami'' are not visible to the human realm. Instead, they inhabit sacred places, natural phenomena, or people during rituals that ask for their blessing.
# They are mobile, visiting their places of worship, of which there can be several, but never staying forever.
# There are many different varieties of ''kami''. There are 300 different classifications of ''kami'' listed in the ''
Kojiki
The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...
'', and they all have different functions, such as the ''kami'' of wind, ''kami'' of entryways, and ''kami'' of roads.
# Lastly, all ''kami'' have a different guardianship or duty to the people around them. Just as the people have an obligation to keep the ''kami'' happy, the ''kami'' have to perform the specific function of the object, place, or idea they inhabit.
''Kami'' are an ever-changing concept, but their presence in Japanese life has remained constant. The ''kami's'' earliest roles were as earth-based spirits, assisting the early
hunter-gatherer
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
groups in their daily lives. They were worshipped as gods of the earth (mountains) and sea. As the cultivation of
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
became increasingly important and predominant in Japan, the ''kami's'' identity shifted to more sustaining roles that were directly involved in the growth of crops; roles such as rain, earth, and rice.
This relationship between early Japanese people and the ''kami'' was manifested in rituals and ceremonies meant to entreat the ''kami'' to grow and protect the harvest. These rituals also became a symbol of power and strength for the early Emperors.
There is a strong tradition of myth-histories in the Shinto faith; one such myth details the appearance of the first emperor, grandson of the Sun Goddess
Amaterasu
Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojik ...
. In this myth, when Amaterasu sent her grandson to earth to rule, she gave him five rice grains, which had been grown in the fields of heaven (
Takamagahara
In Japanese mythology, Takamagahara (高天原, "Plain of High Heaven" or "High Plain of Heaven", also read as Takaamanohara, Takamanohara, Takaamagahara, or Takaamahara), is the abode of the heavenly gods (''amatsukami''). Often depicted as locate ...
). This rice made it possible for him to transform the "wilderness".
Social and political strife have played a key role in the development of new sorts of ''kami'', specifically the ''goryō-shin'' (the sacred spirit ''kami''). ''
Goryō'' are the vengeful spirits of the dead whose lives were cut short, but they were calmed by the devotion of Shinto followers and are now believed to punish those who do not honor the ''kami''.
The pantheon of ''kami'', like the ''kami'' themselves, is forever changing in definition and scope. As the needs of the people have shifted, so too have the domains and roles of the various ''kami''. Some examples of this are related to health, such as the ''kami'' of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
whose role was expanded to include all contagious diseases, or the ''kami'' of boils and growths who has also come to preside over
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
s and
cancer treatments.
In the ancient animistic religions, ''kami'' were understood as simply the divine forces of nature. Worshippers in ancient Japan revered creations of nature which exhibited a particular beauty and power such as
waterfalls, mountains, boulders, animals, trees, grasses, and even
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
paddies. They strongly believed the spirits or resident ''kami'' deserved respect.
In 927 CE, the was promulgated in fifty volumes. This, the first formal codification of Shinto rites and ''
norito
are liturgical texts or ritual incantations in Shinto, usually addressed to a given ''kami''.
History
The first written documentation of ''norito'' dates to 712 CE in the ''Kojiki'' and 720 CE in the '' Nihongi''.
The Engishiki, a compilatio ...
'' (liturgies and prayers) to survive, became the basis for all subsequent Shinto liturgical practice and efforts. It listed all of the 2,861
Shinto shrine
A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion.
Overview
Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings.
The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...
s existing at the time, and the 3,131 official-recognized and enshrined ''kami''. The number of ''kami'' has grown and far exceeded this figure through the following generations as there are over 2,446,000 individual ''kami'' enshrined in Tokyo's
Yasukuni Shrine
is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...
alone.
Shinto belief
''Kami'' are the central objects of worship for the
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
belief. The ancient
animistic
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hum ...
spirituality of Japan was the beginning of modern Shinto, which became a formal spiritual institution later, in an effort to preserve the traditional beliefs from the encroachment of imported religious ideas. As a result, the nature of what can be called ''kami'' is very general and encompasses many different concepts and phenomena.
Some of the objects or phenomena designated as ''kami'' are qualities of growth, fertility, and production; natural phenomena like
wind
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...
and
thunder; natural objects like the
sun,
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
s,
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
s,
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s, and
rocks
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...
; some
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s; and
ancestral spirits
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of ...
. Included within the designation of ancestral spirits are spirits of the ancestors of the
Imperial House of Japan
The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...
, but also ancestors of noble families as well as the spirits of the ancestors of all people, which when they died were believed to be the guardians of their descendants.
There are other spirits designated as ''kami'' as well. For example, the guardian spirits of the land, occupations, and skills; spirits of Japanese heroes, men of outstanding deeds or virtues, and those who have contributed to civilization, culture, and human welfare; those who have died for the state or the community; and the pitiable dead. Not only spirits superior to man can be considered ''kami''; spirits that are considered pitiable or weak have also been considered ''kami'' in Shinto.
The concept of ''kami'' has been changed and refined since ancient times, although anything that was considered to be ''kami'' by ancient people will still be considered ''kami'' in modern
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
. Even within modern Shinto, there are no clearly defined criteria for what should or should not be worshipped as kami. The difference between modern Shinto and the ancient animistic religions is mainly a refinement of the ''kami''-concept, rather than a difference in definitions.
Although the ancient designations are still adhered to, in modern Shinto many priests also consider ''kami'' to be
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
spirits, with nobility and authority. One such example is the mythological figure
Amaterasu
Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojik ...
-ōmikami, the sun goddess of the Shinto pantheon. Although these ''kami'' can be considered deities, they are not necessarily considered
omnipotent
Omnipotence is the quality of having unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence only to the deity of their faith. In the monotheistic religious philosophy of Abrahamic religions, omnipotence is often listed as one of ...
or
omniscient
Omniscience () is the capacity to know everything. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, this is an attribute of God. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any individual can eventually attain. In Buddhism, there are diffe ...
, and like the
Greek Gods, they had flawed personalities and were quite capable of ignoble acts. In the myths of Amaterasu, for example, she could see the events of the human world, but had to use divination rituals to see the future.
There are considered to be three main variations of ''kami'': , , and . ("" literally means eight million, but idiomatically it expresses "uncountably many" and "all-around"—like many East Asian cultures, the Japanese often use the number 8, representing the cardinal and ordinal directions, to symbolize ubiquity.) These classifications of ''kami'' are not considered strictly divided, due to the fluid and shifting nature of ''kami'', but are instead held as guidelines for grouping them.
The ancestors of a particular family can also be worshipped as ''kami''. In this sense, these ''kami'' are worshipped not because of their godly powers, but because of a distinctive quality or virtue. These ''kami'' are celebrated regionally, and several miniature shrines (''
hokora'') have been built in their honor. In many cases, people who once lived are thus revered; an example of this is
Tenjin, who was
Sugawara no Michizane (845–903 CE) in life.
Within Shinto it is believed that the nature of life is sacred because the ''kami'' began human life. Yet people cannot perceive this divine nature, which the kami created, on their own; therefore, , or purification, is necessary in order to see the divine nature.
This purification can only be granted by the ''kami''. In order to please the ''kami'' and earn ''magokoro'', Shinto followers are taught to uphold the four affirmations of Shinto.
The first affirmation is to hold fast to tradition and the family. Family is seen as the main mechanism by which traditions are preserved. For instance, in marriage or birth, tradition is potentially observed and passed onto future generations. The second affirmation is to have a love of nature. Nature objects are worshipped as sacred because the ''kami'' inhabit them. Therefore, to be in contact with nature means to be in contact with the gods. The third affirmation is to maintain physical cleanliness. Followers of Shinto take baths, wash their hands, and rinse out their mouths often. The last affirmation is to practice
matsuri
Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions often celebrated with dance and music in Japan. Many festivals have their roots in Traditional Chinese holidays, traditional Chinese festivals, but have undergone extensive changes over time ...
, which is the worship and honor given to the ''kami'' and ancestral spirits.
Shinto followers also believe that the ''kami'' are the ones who can either grant blessings or curses to a person. Shinto believers desire to appease the evil kami to "stay on their good side", and also to please the good ''kami''. In addition to practicing the four affirmations daily, Shinto believers also wear ''
omamori'' to aid them in remaining pure and protected. Mamori are charms that keep the evil ''kami'' from striking a human with sickness or causing disaster to befall them.
The ''kami'' are both worshipped and respected within the religion of Shinto. The goal of life to Shinto believers is to obtain ''magokoro'', a pure sincere heart, which can only be granted by the ''kami''.
As a result, Shinto followers are taught that humankind should venerate both the living and the nonliving, because both possess a divine superior spirit within: the ''kami''.
Ceremonies and festivals
One of the first recorded rituals we know of is ,
the ceremony in which the
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
offers newly harvested rice to the ''kami'' to secure their blessing for a bountiful harvest. A yearly festival, Niiname-sai, is also performed when a new Emperor
comes to power, in which case it is called . In the ceremony, the Emperor offers crops from the new harvest to the ''kami'', including rice, fish, fruits, soup, and stew. The Emperor first feasts with the deities, then the guests. The feast could go on for some time; for example,
Emperor Shōwa's feast spanned two days.
![Itsukushima Shinto Shrine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Itsukushima_Shinto_Shrine.jpg)
Visitors to a
Shinto shrine
A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion.
Overview
Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings.
The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...
follow a purification ritual before presenting themselves to the ''kami''. This ritual begins with hand washing and swallowing and later spitting a small amount of water in front of the shrine to purify the body, heart, and mind. Once this is complete they turn their focus to gaining the ''kami's'' attention. The traditional method of doing this is to bow twice, clap twice and bow again, alerting the ''kami'' to their presence and desire to commune with them. During the last bow, the supplicant offers words of gratitude and praise to the ''kami''; if they are offering a prayer for aid they will also state their name and address. After the prayer and/or worship they repeat the two bows, two claps and a final bow in conclusion.
Shinto practitioners also worship at home. This is done at a ''
kamidana'' (household shrine), on which an ''
ofuda'' with the name of their protector or ancestral ''kami'' is positioned. Their protector ''kami'' is determined by their or their ancestors' relationship to the ''kami''.
Ascetic practices, shrine rituals and ceremonies, and
Japanese festivals
Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions often celebrated with dance and music in Japan. Many festivals have their roots in traditional Chinese festivals, but have undergone extensive changes over time to have little resemblance to ...
are the most public ways that Shinto devotees celebrate and offer adoration for the ''kami''. ''Kami'' are celebrated during their distinct festivals that usually take place at the shrines dedicated to their worship. Many festivals involve believers, who are usually intoxicated, parading, sometimes running, toward the shrine while carrying
mikoshi
A is a sacred religious palanquin (also translated as portable Shinto shrine). Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle to transport a deity in Japan while moving between main shrine and temporary shrine during a festival or when ...
(portable shrines) as the community gathers for the festival ceremony. Yamamoto Guji, the high priest at the
Tsubaki Grand Shrine
is a Shinto shrine in the Yamamoto neighborhood of the city of Suzuka in Mie Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the two shrines which claim the title of ''ichinomiya'' of former Ise Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on Oc ...
, explains that this practice honors the ''kami'' because "it is in the festival, the matsuri, the greatest celebration of life can be seen in the world of Shinto and it is the people of the community who attend festivals as groups, as a whole village who are seeking to unlock the human potential as children of kami".
During the New Year Festival, families purify and clean their houses in preparation for the upcoming year. Offerings are also made to the ancestors so that they will bless the family in the future year.
Shinto ceremonies are so long and complex that in some shrines it can take ten years for the priests to learn them. The priesthood was traditionally hereditary. Some shrines have drawn their priests from the same families for over a hundred generations.
It is not uncommon for the clergy to be female priestesses.
The priests (''
kannushi'') may be assisted by ''
miko'', young unmarried women acting as shrine maidens. Neither priests nor priestesses live as ascetics; in fact, it is common for them to be married,
and they are not traditionally expected to meditate. Rather, they are considered specialists in the arts of maintaining the connection between the ''kami'' and the people.
In addition to these festivals, ceremonies marking rites of passage are also performed within the shrines. Two such ceremonies are the birth of a child and the Shichi-Go-San. When a child is born they are brought to a shrine so that they can be initiated as a new believer and the ''kami'' can bless them and their future life. The Shichi-Go-San (the Seven-Five-Three) is a rite of passage for five-year-old boys and three- or seven-year-old girls. It is a time for these young children to personally offer thanks for the ''kami's'' protection and to pray for continued health.
Many other rites of passage are practiced by Shinto believers, and there are also many other festivals. The main reason for these ceremonies is so that Shinto followers can appease the ''kami'' in order to reach ''magokoro''.
''Magokoro'' can only be received through the ''kami''. Ceremonies and festivals are long and complex because they need to be perfect to satisfy the ''kami''. If the ''kami'' are not pleased with these ceremonies, they will not grant a Shinto believer ''magokoro''.
Notable kami
*
Amaterasu Ōmikami, the
sun goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
and chief deity of Shinto
*
Ebisu, one of seven gods of
fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
*
Fūjin
or is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods. He is portrayed as a terrifying wizardly demon, resembling a red-headed green-skinned humanoid wearing a leopard skin, carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders. In Ja ...
, the god of wind
*
Hachiman
In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements f ...
, the
god of
war
*
Junshi
refers to the medieval Japanese act of vassals committing seppuku (a voluntary suicide) for the death of their lord. Originally it was only performed when the lord was slain in battle or murdered.
Background
The practice is described by Chines ...
, the god of provocation
*
Inari Ōkami
, also called , is the Japanese ''kami'' of foxes, fertility, rice, tea and sake, of agriculture and industry, of general prosperity and worldly success, and one of the principal kami of Shinto. In earlier Japan, Inari was also the patron of swor ...
, the god of rice and agriculture
*
Izanagi
Izanagi (イザナギ/伊邪那岐/伊弉諾) or Izanaki (イザナキ), formally known as
, is the creator deity (''kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can b ...
-no-Mikoto, the first man
*
Izanami
, formally known as , is the creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother-husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifest ...
-no-Mikoto, the first woman
*
Kotoamatsukami, the primary kami trinity
*
Omoikane, the deity of wisdom
*
Raijin
, also known as , , , and Kamowakeikazuchi-no-kami is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions, standing atop a cloud, beatin ...
, the god of lightning, thunder and storms
*
Ryūjin, the
Japanese dragon god of sea and storms
*
Sarutahiko Ōkami
Sarutahiko Ōkami ( ja, 猿田毘古大神, 猿田彦大神) is a deity of the Japanese religion of Shinto; he is the leader of the earthly ''kami''. Norito also mentions him with the title instead of . Sarutahiko Ōkami was the head of the ku ...
, the kami of earth
*
Susanoo-no-Mikoto
__FORCETOC__
Susanoo (; historical orthography: , ) is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory charac ...
, the god of the
sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
and
storms
*
Tenjin, the poetry god
*
Tsukuyomi
, or simply or , is the moon god in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. The name "Tsukuyomi" is a compound of the Old Japanese words and . The '' Nihon Shoki'' mentions this name spelled as , but this ''yumi'' is likely a variation in ...
, the
moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
god
In popular culture
See also
*
Ainu religion
The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Tōhoku region, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arri ...
*
Philippine mythology
Philippine mythology is the body of stories and epics originating from, and part of, the indigenous Philippine folk religions, which include various ethnic faiths distinct from one another. Philippine mythology is incorporated from various ...
*
Anito
''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associati ...
, counterparts of ''kami'' in northern Philippines
*
Animism
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...
*
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
*
Diwata
''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associati ...
, counterparts of ''kami'' in central and southern Philippines
*
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...
*
Geist
''Geist'' () is a German noun with a significant degree of importance in German philosophy. Its semantic field corresponds to English ghost, spirit, mind, intellect. Some English translators resort to using "spirit/mind" or "spirit (mind)" to he ...
*
Genius loci
In classical Roman religion, a ''genius loci'' (plural ''genii locorum'') was the protective spirit of a place. It was often depicted in religious iconography as a figure holding attributes such as a cornucopia, patera (libation bowl) or snake. ...
and
Numen
Numen (plural numina) is a Latin term for "divinity", "divine presence", or "divine will." The Latin authors defined it as follows:For a more extensive account, refer to Cicero writes of a "divine mind" (''divina mens''), a god "whose numen ever ...
, similar concepts of ancient Rome
*
Glossary of Shinto
*
Hyang
''Hyang'' ( Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese) is a representation of the Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology. This spiritual entity can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found ...
, parallel concepts of ''kami'' in Indonesian faith
*
İye
*
Kadomatsu
*
Kamuy
*
Korean Shamanism
Korean shamanism or Mu-ism is a religion from Korea. In the Korean language, alternative terms for the tradition are ''musok'' () and ''mugyo'' (무교, 巫敎). Scholars of religion have classified it as a folk religion. There is no central auth ...
*
Koshintō
*
Kotodama
refers to the Japanese belief that mystical powers dwell in words and names. English translations include "soul of language", "spirit of language", "power of language", "power word", "magic word", and "sacred sound". The notion of ''kotodama'' ...
*
Landvættir, similar natural and spiritual beings in Norse religion
*
Loa
( ), also called loa or loi, are spirits in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. They have also been incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo. Many of the lwa derive their identities in part from deities venerate ...
, similar natural and spiritual beings in Vodou/Voodoo religion
*
List of Shinto ''kami''
*
Mana
*
Pneuma
*
Religion in Japan
*
Ryukyuan religion
The Ryukyuan religion (琉球信仰), Ryūkyū Shintō (琉球神道), Nirai Kanai Shinkō (ニライカナイ信仰), or Utaki Shinkō (御嶽信仰) is the indigenous belief system of the Ryukyu Islands. While specific legends and traditions ...
*
Shen (Chinese religion)
''Shen'' (神) is the Chinese word for "deity", "spirit", heart, inclusive and community mind, or future mind. The Japanese equivalent is ''shin''. This single Chinese term expresses a range of similar, yet differing, meanings. The first meaning ...
*
Shintai
In Shinto, , or when the honorific prefix ''go''- is used, are physical objects worshipped at or near Shinto shrines as repositories in which spirits or ''kami'' reside.''Shintai'', Encyclopedia of Shinto ''Shintai'' used in Shrine Shinto (Jin ...
*
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu (Irish goddess), Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deity, ...
, similar natural and spiritual beings in ancient Irish paganism
*
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...
*
Uthra in Mandaeism
References
Further reading
*Chamberlain, Basil H. (translated by). 1919
''The Kojiki, Records of Ancient Matters'' Asiatic Society of Japan.
*Clarke, Roger. 2000.
. ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''. 7 April 2000.
*Fisher, Mary P. 2008. Living Religions seventh edition.
External links
Introduction: Kami Encyclopedia of Shinto
''Kami'' Gods of Japan
Itō Mikiharu
{{Authority control
Japanese deities
Japanese mythology
Nature spirits
Shinto terminology
Tutelary deities
Types of deities