When a singular concept is needed, -kami ( 神) is used as a suffix. In his Kojiki-den, Motoori Norinaga gave a definition of kami: ".any being whatsoever which possesses some eminent quality out of the ordinary, and is awe-inspiring, is called kami." īecause Japanese does not normally distinguish grammatical number in nouns (the singular and plural forms of nouns in Japanese are the same), it is sometimes unclear whether kami refers to a single or multiple entities.The matter of the words' origins is still a subject of debate but it is generally suggested that the word kami was derived from Ainu word kamuy. In the Ainu language, the word kamuy refers to an animistic concept very similar to Japanese kami.It is written with the kanji 神, Sino-Japanese reading shin or jin. Kami may, at its root, simply mean spirit, or an aspect of spirituality.Īlthough deity is the common interpretation of kami, some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term. It has been used to describe mind, God, supreme being, one of the Shinto deities, an effigy, a principle, and anything that is worshipped. Kami is the Japanese word for a deity, divinity, or spirit. Etymology Īmaterasu, one of the central kami in the Shinto faith : 22 To be in harmony with the awe-inspiring aspects of nature is to be conscious of kannagara no michi ( 随神の道 or 惟神の道, "the way of the kami"). Kami are believed to be "hidden" from this world, and inhabit a complementary existence that mirrors our own: shinkai ( 神界, "the world of the kami"). They are manifestations of musubi ( 結び), the interconnecting energy of the universe, and are considered exemplary of what humanity should strive towards. In Shinto, kami are not separate from nature, but are of nature, possessing positive and negative, and good and evil characteristics. Traditionally, great leaders like the Emperor could be or became kami. Many kami are considered the ancient ancestors of entire clans (some ancestors became kami upon their death if they were able to embody the values and virtues of kami in life). They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express they can also be the spirits of venerated dead people. Kami ( Japanese: 神, ) are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers" that are venerated in the Shinto religion.
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