Then in the tenth century, according to the Kokugakuin encyclopedia of Shinto, dramatic changes began: In the earlliest writings, such as Kojiki (712) and Nihon shoki (720), mythological ancestral kami are referred to while nature deities are still named after their locality. In a land of floods, earthquakes and other disasters, it was a matter of life and death. Offerings and entertainment became a means of placating the kami and cultivating their good favour. Villagers set up sacred areas in groves to welcome them down from the hills and held special rituals and festivals. They were referred to by the locality in which they resided. Neither singular nor plural, the earliest kami had no form, no name and no substance. Over time it evolved into kami, meaning something hidden or invisible.

In The World of Shinto by Sonoda Minoru, the head priest of Chichibu Shrine says that the word ‘kami’ most likely originates from the ancient Japanese kumu or kuma, meaning a secret place or recess where things are concealed. In more than one sense, they are higher beings. You can see why, for you always look up to the kami – literally – since care is taken to ensure that they are housed above human eye level.

The Chinese character is written differently and has different roots, but for long it was assumed the words had the same origin.

Performances such as horse races, gagaku court music and sumo are put on for them.īy a curious linguistic quirk the spoken word ‘kami’ can also mean ‘upper’ or ‘higher’. They are taken on outings around their domain in annual festivals. In general the kami are treated as if they are invisible but august human beings. ‘Even a sardine head can be a matter of faith,’ runs a cynical proverb. There are also spirits associated with items in daily life, which is why there are some surprising pacification ceremonies – for used dolls, sewing needles, knives, and shoes. The female muse Benzaiten with origins in India is a notable example. Kami can also be figures from Japanese mythology, and there are imported banshin (foreign kami) too. Originally most were nature spirits, but over time imperial ancestors, clan founders and restless spirits came to predominate. It’s as if they are alight with flames taken from one single fire source.īy tradition there are ‘eight myriad’ kami ( yaoyorazu), an expression that signifies that they are beyond counting. Kami are often ‘divided’ and placed in a subsidiary shrine, or their essence installed in an ofuda intended for a person’s house. They have no substance or form, and as such can be present in different places at the same time. In this way kami can be understood as manifestations of the life-force flowing through the universe. It’s the same veneration of the life-force one finds in shamanistic cultures in East Asia Chingis Khan, for instance, despite his reputation for cruelty is venerated as a deity amongst Mongolians. Rocks with a special sense of presence mountains with a special shape waterfalls of dramatic impact people with superhuman achievement the spirits of the aggrieved. Kami include not only mysterious beings that are noble and good, but also malignant spirits that are extraordinary and deserve veneration.’ Deities, spirits and awe-inspiring phenomena – such is the complex melange of the Shinto kami.Īnything extraordinary, whether good or bad, can be made a focus of kami worship. In the face of this, most commentators resort to an eighteenth-century thinker called Motoori Norinaga, who wrote that ‘Kami are, first of all, deities of heaven and earth and spirits venerated at shrines, as well as the humans, birds and beasts, plants and trees, oceans and mountains that have exceptional powers and ought to be revered. In Shinto: The Kami Way, for long the definitive book in English, Sokyo Ono suggests that ‘The Japanese themselves do not have a clear idea regarding the kami.‘ By and large they tend to be personifications of nature and deification of dead human beings. The concept has also changed over time, and many kami have dropped out of usage. The definition of kami is notoriously difficult, since the term is vague and embraces many different aspects. Please scroll down to the section required. This page consists of: 1) Definition 2) Evolution 3) Listing.

Kami definition japanese shintoism