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Kami are the central objects of worship for the Shinto belief. The best English translation of kami is 'spirits', but this is an over-simplification of a complex concept - kami can be elements of the landscape or forces of nature. Kami are believed to have influence over the forces of nature and over the affairs of humans.
Musubi-no-Kami (結びの神, lit. ' deity of binding ') – One of the Shinto kami of creation; also known as the kami of matchmaking, love, and marriages. Musuhi – A term in Shinto for the spiritual influences that produces all the things in the universe and helps them develop and complete their cycle. Myōjin (明神, lit.
Amatsukami (Japanese: 天津神, 天つ神, 'Kami of heaven') is a category of kami in Japanese mythology. Generally speaking, it refers to kami born in, or residing in, Takamagahara. Amatsukami is one of the three categories of kami, along with their earthly counterpart Kunitsukami (国津神, 国つ神), and yaoyorozu-no-kami (八百万の神).
A torii gateway to the Yobito Shrine (Yobito-jinja) in Abashiri City, HokkaidoThere is no universally agreed definition of Shinto. [2] According to Joseph Cali and John Dougill, if there was "one single, broad definition of Shinto" that could be put forward, it would be that "Shinto is a belief in kami", the supernatural entities at the centre of the religion. [3]
Takeminakata (タケミナカタ), also known as Minakatatomi or Takeminakatatomi, is a kami in Japanese mythology.Also known as Suwa Myōjin (諏訪明神 / 諏方明神) or Suwa Daimyōjin (諏訪大明神 / 諏方大明神) after Suwa Grand Shrine (Suwa Taisha) in Nagano Prefecture in which he is enshrined alongside his consort Yasakatome, Takeminakata is historically worshiped as a god of ...
The most common shintai are man-made objects like mirrors, swords, jewels (for example comma-shaped stones called magatama), gohei (wands used during religious rites), and sculptures of kami called shinzō (), [3] but they can be also natural objects such as rocks (shinishi ()), mountains (shintai-zan ()), trees (shinboku ()), and waterfalls (shintaki ()) [1] Before the forcible separation of ...
In shrines, even today stones considered to be related to the shrine's kami are used to make food offerings to the kami. [7] Similarly an iwasaka (磐境) is a stone altar or mound erected as a yorishiro to call a kami for worship. [8] The concepts of iwasaka and iwakura are so close that some suggest the two words are in fact synonymous. [8]
Later the kami's animal familiar became a common symbol of the kami itself. For example, the foxes at Inari shrines was worshipped as a manifestation of Inari Ōkami . These creatures were thought to be extraordinary spiritual beings, and this perception, combined with their relationship with the specific kami , likely gave rise to this phenomenon.