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Kami (Japanese: 神, ) are the deities, divinities, spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, beings and the qualities that these beings express, and/or the spirits of venerated dead people.
Shinto is a blend of indigenous Japanese folk practices, beliefs, court manners, and spirit-worship which dates back to at least 600 CE. [7]: 99 These beliefs were unified as "Shinto" during the Meiji era (1868–1912), [6]: 4 [12] though the Chronicles of Japan (日本書紀, Nihon Shoki) first referenced the term in the eighth century.
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]
In 1871, the Japanese government established the Kanpei-sha (官幣社) system to classify Shinto shrines based on their level of association with the imperial family. The highest category included shrines that venerated the imperial family members, emperors, or meritorious retainers of the Imperial family.
' god/spirit-shelf ') are miniature household altars provided to enshrine a Shinto kami. They are most commonly found in Japan, the home of kami worship. [1] The kamidana is typically placed high on a wall and contains a wide variety of items related to Shinto-style ceremonies, the most prominent of which is the shintai, an object meant to ...
Shinto is a religion native to Japan with a centuries'-long history tied to various influences in origin. [1]Although historians debate [citation needed] the point at which it is suitable to begin referring to Shinto as a distinct religion, kami veneration has been traced back to Japan's Yayoi period (300 BC to AD 300).
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]
Hambrick, Charles H. "Tradition and Modernity in the New Religious Movements of Japan." Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1 (1974): 217–52. JSTOR. Web. 21 Sept. 2010. Teeuwen, Mark, John Breen, and Ito Satoshi. "Shinto and the Populace: the Spread of Ritual and Teachings." Shinto, a Short History. New York: New York Taylor & Francis, 2003 ...