When Izanami gave birth to the fire □ god named Kagutsuchi, she suffered lethal burns. They settled on the island and decided to marry, giving birth to the other islands of Japan as well as to countless kami. The drops of salt that stuck to the spear formed the archipelago’s first piece of land and is located nowadays in Awaji Island in the Kansai area. They stirred the ocean with a celestial spear from the floating bridge in the sky. Respectively the primal god and goddess, Izanagi and Izanami represent the couple founder of Japan and are also twins. We made a non-exhaustive short list of the main Japanese kami, that are frequently encountered when visiting shrines in Japan or through the pop culture, especially video games and manga. Note that each Shinto deity’s names can often be written with different kanji. 大神 for " Okami" which means "great god" and is only used for the most important kami.To show their respect for the gods and their actions, the Japanese use the following honorific suffixes: One of the highlights of these festivals is the parade of kami in their mikoshi portable shrines in the surrounding streets, to bless the neighborhood and its inhabitants. Most of the sites are home to several kami and there is a sanctuary hierarchy in Japan, with the 2 most important and sacred being Ise and Izumo.Įvery year, shrines stage festive celebrations called matsuri. They can be found anywhere, nestled at a corner of a street in a city or sheltered under a whole forest. The Shinto shrines are usually called jinja and are places of worship for the Japanese and a residence to rest for the divine spirits. A mortal who has accomplished great deeds, such as war generals or influential thinkers can be deified and worshiped. The good and the evil are not opposed, and a deity can be both throughout its existence. These spiritual entities, like humans, have moods and can make good deeds as much as bad ones. Outside Japan, acquaintance with kami is often made through Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki’s animated movies where they are introduced with great poetry. Gall, "Kami and Daimōn: A Cross-Cultural Reflection on What Is Divine", Philosophy East and West, Vol. " any being whatsoever which possesses some eminent quality out of the ordinary, and is awe-inspiring, is called kami."įrom: Robert S. A famous Japanese scholar, Motoori Norinaga (1730 - 1801), gave the following definition: This number includes natural phenomenon, such as waterfalls or rocks with a specific shape, as well as primary elements such as the sun, the wind, and the earth.Īctually, the concept of kami is broader than that of a simple god. The quasi-infinite number of Shinto deities in Japan is sometimes estimated to 8 million. The word "Shinto", 神道in Japanese, means the " way of the gods" and defines the existence of a myriad of gods. Diverse Shintoist pratices of daily life An infinity of gods
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