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Japan’s imperial family claims direct decent from her line. Amaterasu is the child of Izanagi 伊邪那岐命 and Izanami 伊邪那美命 (creator gods of Japanese mythology). Also spelled Ōmikami, Omikami, Oumikami, O-mikami, O-mi-kami. Sun Goddess, Queen of Kami, She Who Illuminates the Heavens, the Supreme Shintō Deity.

See Terminology Page for more terms.Īka Taiyōsama Amaterasu 太陽神アマテラス. The latter are known as BUTSU 佛 and 仏 and NYORAI 如来 (all mean Buddha or Tathagata), BOSATSU 菩薩 (meaning Bodhisattva), TEN 天 (meaning Deva), MYŌ-Ō 明王 (meaning Luminescent Kings). Shintō deities are called KAMI 神, SHIN 神, JIN 神, SAMA 様, TENJIN 天神, GONGEN 権現, and MYŌJIN 明神 to distinguish them from their Buddhist counterparts. To many Japanese, Shintō and Buddhist faith is primarily involved with petitions and prayers for business profits, the safety of the household, success on school entrance exams, painless child birth, and other concrete rewards now, in this life. In modern Japan, both Shintō and Buddhist practice among the common folk has taken on the air of “this-worldly benefits” (concrete rewards now Jp. The emperor of Japan, even today, claims direct decent from the Shintō Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Unlike Buddhism, whose deities are generally genderless or male, the Shintō tradition has long revered the female element. Even the evil bloodsucking Kappa has some redeeming qualities - i.e., when benevolent, the Kappa is a skilled teacher in the art of bone setting and other medical practices. There is no definitive standard of good and evil, there is no moral code. The noted Japanese scholar Motoori Norinaga 本居宣長(1730-1801) defined kami as anything that was "superlatively awe-inspiring," either noble or base, good or evil, rough or gentle, strong or weak, lofty or submerged.

All phenomena manifest "rough" and "gentle" characteristics. There are numerous Shintō spirits and demons that must be appeased to avoid calamity, but there is no absolute dichotomy between good and evil. These spirits are constantly increasing in number, as expressed in the Japanese phrase Yaoyorozu no Kami 八百万神 - literally "the eight million kami." The Japanese believe this world is inhabited by these myriad kami - spirits that can do either good or evil. The abode of the kami is considered sacred and is usually encircled with a shimenawa (rope festooned with sacred white paper). Rather, they are the abodes in which the spirits reside. These objects are not symbols of the spirits. The term KAMI can refer to gods, goddesses, ancestors, and all variety of spirits that inhabit the water, rocks, trees, grass, and other natural objects. The Shintō pantheon of kami 神 (spirits) includes countless deities and innumerable supernatural creatures. The two faiths are inexorably intertwined despite earlier efforts to divide them. Many Buddhist deities in Japan incorporate Shintō attributes.

Many Shintō deities in Japan incorporate Buddhist attributes. Shintō Deities (Kami), Supernatural Animals, SHIN 神 (also pronounced KAMI) is the generic term for god, goddess, divine spirit, and various demonic and semi-benevolent nature spirits. Also known as Kami-no-Michi 神の道 (Way of the Gods).