Kami

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For alternate uses of Kami, see Kami (disambiguation).

Image:Amaterasu cave crop.jpg Template:Wiktionary Kami (神) is the Japanese word for the objects of worship in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity," Shinto scholars point out that such a translation can cause a serious misunderstanding of the term (Ono, 1962). In some instances, such as Izanagi and Izanami, kami are personified deities, similar to the gods of ancient Greece or ancient Rome. In other cases, such as the phenomenon of growth, natural objects, the spirits dwelling in trees, or forces of nature, translating "kami" with "god" or "deity" exclusively would be a gross mischaracterization.

In its usage within Shinto, the word is an honorific (See: Japanese titles and Japanese honorifics) for noble, sacred spirits, which implies a sense of respect or adoration for their virtues and authority. Since all beings have such spirits, human beings (and indeed all beings) could be considered kami or potential kami. However, because the Japanese never use an honorific to refer to themselves or to a member of a group to which they belong, it is uncommon for a normal human being to be referred to as a kami (Ono, 1962).

Because Japanese does not normally distinguish number (singular/plural) in nouns, it is sometimes unclear whether kami refers to a single entity or multiple entities. When a plural concept is absolutely necessary, the term "kami-gami" (神々) is used. Female kami are sometimes referred to as megami (女神). It is often said that there are Yaoyorozu-no-kami(八百万の神) or 8 million Kami; in Japanese, this number often implies an infinite number.

1 Shinto belief and Kami
2 Impact on Popular Culture
3 Some specific kami
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

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Shinto belief and Kami

Template:Portalpar "Kami" are the central objects of worship for the Shinto faith. Shinto began as the various ancient animistic folk religions of Japan, and only became a unified religion in response to the influences of other religions brought into Japan from abroad. Thus, the concept of kami was developed first in various regional folk religions before being unified into the single religion of Shinto. As a result, the nature of what can be called "kami" is very broad and encompasses many different concepts and phenomena.

Some of the objects or phenomena designated as kami are qualities of growth, fertility, and production; natural phenomena like wind and thunder; natural objects like the sun, mountains, rivers, trees, and rocks; some animals; and ancestral spirits. Included within the designation of ancestral spirits are spirits of the ancestors of the Imperial family of Japan, but also ancestors of noble families as well as the spirits of the ancestors of common people.

There are other spirits designated as kami as well. For example, the guardian spirits of the land, occupations, and skills; spirits of Japanese heroes, men of outstanding deeds or virtues, and those who have contributed to civilization, culture and human welfare; those who have died for the state or the community (See: Yasukuni Shrine); and the pitiable dead. It should be noted that not only spirits superior to man can be considerd kami, but also spirits that are considered pitiable or weak have been considered kami in Shinto.

The concept of kami has been changed and refined since ancient times, although anything that was considered to be kami by ancient people will still be considered kami in "modern" Shinto. ("Modern" meaning since it was formalized into a unified religion under the influence of foreign religions like Buddhism.) Even within modern Shinto, there are no clearly defined criteria for what should or should not be worshipped as kami. The difference between modern Shinto and the ancient animistic religions is mainly a refinement of the kami-concept, rather than a difference in definitions.

In the ancient animistic religions, kami were understood as simply the divine forces of nature. Worshippers in ancient Japan revered creations of nature which exhibited a particular beauty and power such as waterfalls, mountains, boulders, animals, trees, grasses and even rice paddies. They strongly believed the spirits or resident kami deserved respect.

Although the ancient designations are still adhered to, in modern Shinto many priests also consider kami to be anthropomorphic spirits, with nobility and authority. These include such mythological figures as Amaterasu, the sun goddess of the Shinto pantheon. Although these kami can be considered deities, they are not considered omnipotent or omniscient. In the myths of Amaterasu, for example, she could not see the events of the human world. She also had to use divination rituals to see the future.

The kami traditionally possessed two souls, one gentle (nigimi-tama) and the other aggressive (arami-tama). This human but powerful form of kami was also divided into amutsu-kami ("the heavenly deities") and kunitsu-kami ("the gods of the earthly realm"). A deity would behave differently according to which soul was in control at a given time. In many ways, this was representative of nature's sudden changes and would explain why there were kami for every meteorological event: snowfall, rain, typhoons, floods, lightning and volcanoes.

The ancestors of a particular family can also be worshipped as kami. In this sense, these kami were worshipped not because of their godly powers, but because of a distinct quality or value. These kami were regional and many shrines (hokora) were built in honour of these kami. In many cases, people who once lived can thus be deified as gods; an example of this is Tenjin, who was Sugawara no Michizane (845-903) in life.

In his 1946 Ningen-sengen radio broadcast, the emperor Hirohito declared that he is not an akitsumikami (manifest kami). However, after this declaration, Hirohito asked for permission from the occupying forces to worship his ancestors, and, upon receiving permission, he worshipped Amaterasu, thus implying that he was of divine descent.

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Impact on Popular Culture

In the 2004 expansion to Magic: The Gathering, entitled Champions of Kamigawa, kami and Shinto are the basis for the ongoing storyline of the series. The set has stayed surprisingly true to the Japanese mythology, using actual kami names instead of inventing ones. In Kamigawa, the Kami have been angered by the actions of a human lord. This anger has sparked the "Kami War", in which the noble kami spirits turn against their human worshippers.

In another card game, Legend of the Five Rings, the religion of the official fiction, heaviliy derivative of real-world Eastern Religion, places great emphasis on the veneration of Kami for each of the five "Rings": Air, Earth, Fire, Water and Void. Often anthropomorphic and always behaving in a manner associated with their "Ring", they were powerful forces prayed to for great power by spellcasters, or Shugenja.

In the DragonBall anime and manga series, there is an alien being who watches and protects the earth bears the name of Kami.

One of the most popular anime and manga series is Kosuke Fujishima's work Aa! Megami-sama!, commonly known in English as Oh My Goddess!

The first game of the Megami Tensei ("Reincarnation of the Goddess") computer role-playing game series featured a character who was the reincarnation of the Shinto kami Izanami.

In the online game Ultima Online, a demonic entity known as "Kami of Drought" has appeared in the Asian-themed continent of "The Tokuno Islands" found in that game's map. Though, the relationship between the kami of the Shinto religion and this demonic entity seems to stop at the name.

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