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Kami may, at its root, simply mean spirit, or an aspect of spirituality. It is written with the kanji 神, Sino-Japanese reading shin or jin. In Chinese, the character means deity or spirit. [8] In the Ainu language, the word kamuy refers to an animistic concept very similar to Japanese kami.
Yaoyorozu no Kami (八百万の神, Eight Million Gods) is a term referring to kami in Shinto. The phrase "eight million gods" in Shinto religion does not mean that there are exactly 8 million gods. It means there are too many gods to count. [1] At the time infinity was not a known concept [2] and 8 is a lucky number in Asian culture. [3]
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.
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]
[1] [2] Chinese symbols often have auspicious meanings associated to them, such as good fortune, happiness, and also represent what would be considered as human virtues, such as filial piety, loyalty, and wisdom, [1] and can even convey the desires or wishes of the Chinese people to experience the good things in life. [2]
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.
The Xiuzhen tu (simplified Chinese: 修真图; traditional Chinese: 修真圖; pinyin: Xiūzhēn tú; Wade–Giles: Hsiu-chen t'u) is a Daoist diagram of the human body illustrating the preventative Chinese medical principles called Neidan ' internal alchemy ', incorporating Chinese astrology, and cosmology. [1]
The kami the two enshrine play fundamental roles in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, two texts of great importance to Shinto. [45] Because its kami, Amaterasu, is an ancestor of the Emperor, Ise Grand Shrine is the Imperial Household's family shrine. Ise Grand Shrine is dedicated specifically to the emperor.