Mitama

The Japanese word refers to the spirit of a ''kami'' or the soul of a dead person. It is composed of two characters, the first of which, , is simply an honorific. The second, means "spirit". The character pair 神霊, also read ''mitama'', is used exclusively to refer to a ''kami's'' spirit. Significantly, the term is a synonym of '' shintai'', the object which in a Shinto shrine houses the enshrined ''kami''.

Early Japanese definitions of the ''mitama'', developed later by many thinkers like Motoori Norinaga, maintain it consists of several "souls", relatively independent one from the other.
The most developed is the , a Shinto theory according to which the of both ''kami'' and human beings consists of one ''whole'' spirit and four ''sub'' souls.* The four souls are the , the , the and the .

According to the theory, each of the souls making up the spirit has a character and a function of its own; they all exist at the same time, complementing each other. In the '' Nihon Shoki'', the deity Ōnamuchi (Ōkuninushi) actually meets his ''kushi-mitama'' and ''saki-mitama'' in the form of Ōmononushi, but does not even recognize them. The four seem moreover to have a different importance, and different thinkers have described their interaction differently.

''Ara-mitama'' and ''nigi-mitama''

The is the rough and violent side of a spirit. A ''kami's'' first appearance is as an ''ara-mitama'', which must be pacified with appropriate pacification rites and worship so that the ''nigi-mitama'' can appear.

The is the normal state of the ''kami'', its functional side, while the ''ara-mitama'' appears in times of war or natural disasters. These two souls are usually considered opposites, and Motoori Norinaga believed the other two to be no more than aspects of the ''nigi-mitama''.

''Ara-mitama'' and ''Nigi-mitama'' are in any case independent agents, so much so that they can sometimes be enshrined separately in different locations and different '' shintai''. For example, Sumiyoshi Shrine in Shimonoseki enshrines the ''ara-mitama'' of the Sumiyoshi ''kami'', while Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka enshrines its ''nigi-mitama''. Ise Shrine has a sub-shrine called Aramatsuri-no-miya enshrining Amaterasu's ''ara-mitama''. Atsuta-jingū has a '' sessha'' called Ichi-no-misaki Jinja for her ''ara-mitama'' and a '' massha'' called Toosu-no-yashiro for her ''nigi-mitama''. No separate enshrinement of the ''mitama'' of a ''kami'' has taken place since the rationalization and systematization of Shinto actuated by the Meiji restoration.

''Saki-mitama''

The - The happy and loving side of a whole, complete spirit (mitama); this is the soul of blessing and prosperity. In a scene of the Nihon Shoki, ''kami'' Ōnamuchi is described in conversation with his own ''saki-mitama'' and ''kushi-mitama''. Within Shinto also exists the idea that this the soul which brings good harvests and catches. Motoori Norinaga and others however believe this to be no more than a function of the ''nigi-mitama''.

''Kushi-mitama''

The is the wise and experienced side of a whole, complete spirit (mitama); the "wondrous soul" which appears together with the ''saki-mitama'', the providing soul, which is the power behind the harvest. It is believed to have mysterious powers, to cause transformations and to be able to cure illnesses.

Mitama Festival

A widely celebrated Shinto festival to the dead in Japan, particularly at the Yasukuni Shrine. Typically in mid-July.

In popular culture

In ''Inuyasha'', the Shikon Jewel, also known as the Jewel of Four Souls that the four souls described are referenced as the four Mitamas from the Shintō philosophy of Naohi (直霊): , , and {{nihongo, Sakimitama, 幸魂, Love, lit. Fortunate Soul.

Ara-mitama was contained by Datara, when he gets angry easily and often using Kamuitama to summon storms and severe droughts in Nintendo DS video game, '' Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel''.

See also

* Reikon
* Obon
* Chinkon

References

Japanese culture
Shinto
Goryō faith