In Japanese, the word “kami” has a complex meaning that encompasses a variety of supernatural forces and divine beings. At its most basic level, “kami” refers to sacred or mystical powers that reside in objects, animals, nature, and even people. However, unpacking the fuller meaning and significance of “kami” requires an in-depth exploration of indigenous Japanese religion and folk beliefs.
The Origins and Etymology of Kami
The earliest written records of the word “kami” come from ancient Japanese texts dating back to the 8th century CE. Scholars believe the word originated from the verb “kamu,” meaning “to be wild, be divine, be fearful, be sacred.” This root conveys the mysterious, awe-inspiring nature of the forces designated by “kami.”
Over time, the meaning expanded to cover a wide range of supernatural phenomena that were venerated or feared in Japanese animism and folk religion. By the time the Japanese started importing writing systems and religions from China around the 5th century CE, the word “kami” had become an established term for sacred power that commanded respect.
Kami in Early Japanese Religion
In early Japanese religions like Shinto, the kami were understood to be divine forces or spirits that inhabited natural objects like mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, and animals. The kami were believed to influence events in the human realm, so people performed rituals and made offerings to them seeking protection, fertility, good fortune, and other boons.
Kami were localized to particular places, objects, or phenomena. For instance, it was believed that each mountain, river, or village had its own unique kami guardian. There were solar kami, water kami, agricultural kami, and more. Ancestors and outstanding heroes were also venerated as protective kami after death.
Kami vs. Gods
Early Japanese texts sometimes equated powerful kami with “gods,” but kami occupy a much broader conceptual range. While kami can include important deities, they can also be minor supernatural entities or forces without anthropomorphic identities. So limiting kami only to gods misses much of their animistic religious significance in Japan.
Types of Kami
Given their diverse origins and roles, scholars of Japanese religion have identified several major categories of kami:
- Natural kami – forces inhabiting sacred mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, etc.
- Ancestral kami – spirits of deceased ancestors who continue protecting their descendants
- Local kami – spirits focused on protecting particular locations, villages, or communities
- National/cultural kami – kami with significance for the Japanese nation or important cultural spheres like agriculture, technology, etc.
- Abstract kami – cosmic forces or divinities embodying abstract concepts like growth, love, and prosperity
However, these categories often blend together. For instance, a river kami could also function as a local kami for people dwelling along its banks. Deceased emperors became ancestral kami who were also symbols of national unity. Nonetheless, this typology provides a useful framework for analyzing kami based on their primary attributes and roles.
Examples of Important Kami
Notable kami from Japanese religious history and mythology include:
- Amaterasu – Sun goddess, major Shinto deity, and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line
- Susano’o – Storm god and brother of Amaterasu in Shinto myths
- Tsukuyomi – Shinto moon god
- Raijin – Divine embodiment of lightning, thunder, and storms
- Fujin – Wind god
- Inari – Shinto deity associated with rice, agriculture, prosperity, and foxes
- Tenjin – Patron kami of scholarship and academics
- Hachiman – Shinto god of war now syncretized as a bodhisattva in Japanese Buddhism
- Owatatsumi – Powerful water kami who rules the sea
- Toyouke – Goddess of food, crops, and abundance
Certain sacred mountains like Fuji and natural sites like the Itsukushima Shrine’s torii gate rising from the sea also house concentrations of powerful kami.
Kami in Shinto and Folk Belief
In modern Shinto, kami are the central objects of worship and veneration at public shrines and in various folk rituals. Some kami are considered the ancestors of entire clans, and family shrines may house ancestral kami. Certain kami also receive public worship during festivals like Tenjin Matsuri (for the kami Tenjin) or Tsukimi (moon viewing festival).
In Japanese folk beliefs, natural spaces like mountains and forests inhabited by kami are thought to have a subtle sacred power. Spiritual sites connected with agriculture, fishing, technology, and other endeavors may house specialized kami patrons. People may leave small offerings at these sites while making a simple prayer or request to the kami for continued abundance and safety.
Koshitsu Kami
A unique type of kami in Shinto are the “koshitsu kami” – the ancestral spirits enshrined at and protecting the Japanese Imperial Household. Amaterasu is considered the ultimate progenitor. The living emperor serves as the head priest who leads rituals honoring these kami, underscoring the close relationship between Japanese emperorship and kami worship.
Hidden Kami
In rural Japan, folk legends tell of “hidden kami” (kakuregami) who exist in sacred sites in nature far from human eyes. These secluded kami are considered extremely powerful but prefer isolation over interaction with humans. Hidden mountain kami are said to violently expel any humans who get too close to their realm.
Kami in Japanese Buddhism
When Buddhism was introduced to Japan around the 6th century CE, it did not supplant indigenous kami worship. Rather, a synthesis emerged whereby Buddhas and bodhisattvas were equated or assimilated with certain kami. For example, Hachiman came to be viewed as the Japanese manifestation of the bodhisattva Daibosatsu.
This syncretic pattern gave Buddhism deeper roots in Japan by adapting doctrines and rituals to acknowledge the existing kami cults. Japanese Buddhists developed original rituals like honji suijaku ceremonies making offerings to kami who were manifestations of cosmic Buddhas or bodhisattvas. Over time, the kami Hachiman, Tenjin, Inari and others developed large followings in Japanese Buddhism.
Shinbutsu Shūgō: Blending Kami and Buddhas
The complex intermixing of kami and Buddhas became known as shinbutsu shūgō – the syncretic blending of Japanese kami worship and Buddhism. This syncretism reached its height in the medieval and early modern periods but remains influential. Shinbutsu shūgō allowed the Japanese to maintain their native kami cults while integrating Buddhist figures who were seen as higher emanations of the kami.
Characteristics of Kami
Due to the diverse origins and definitions of kami, they display an array of traits and characteristics:
- Powerful, sacred, and awe-inspiring forces
- Inhabiting natural entities, places, or ritual objects
- Capable of influencing human affairs for good or ill
- Protected and worshipped at shrines through offerings and rituals
- At times anthropomorphized, with distinct names, personalities, histories, and abilities
- Divided into families of related kami with hierarchical statuses
- Capable of movement, appearing in multiple places through manifestation
- Sometimes blended or equated with Buddhas and bodhisattvas
However, no single set of characteristics applies to all kami. The diversity of kami matches the diversity of natural and human phenomena they embody and influence.
Kami and Animism
The central role of kami in Shinto connects the religion to patterns of animism found worldwide. Animism attributes souls, spirits, or vital living essences to non-human entities like animals, plants, rocks, waterways, weather systems, topographic features, and more.
Like other animistic beliefs, Shinto posits that kami inhabit and animate aspects of nature. Local kami form a pantheon tied to particular regions and communities. By honoring the resident kami, people maintain cosmic order and attain blessings. This gives kami worship a transactional quality based on gratitude and reciprocity between humans and their supernatural guardians.
However, kami differ from the anthropomorphic gods found in polytheistic religions. They resemble the impersonal supernatural forces found in animistic traditions from Siberia to indigenous North America to Sub-Saharan Africa. For this reason, defining kami simply as Shinto gods misses their true animistic foundations.
Kami and Japanese Identity
Due to their roots in ancient Japanese spirituality tied to nature and ancestors, kami are deeply intertwined with Japanese cultural identity. Kami lore and worship rituals have been transmitted for centuries through oral traditions, village customs, stuff festivals, and public shrines.
The kami remain a wellspring of Japanese folk wisdom, transmitting teachings on ethics, nature, history, society, and righteous living in their role as ancestral tutors. Consequently, the kami help define what it means to be Japanese through their constant spiritual presence and guidance.
The Flexible Nature of Kami
The diverse nature of kami makes pinning down their definition challenging. Some characteristics of kami include:
- Manifestation in multiple forms and places simultaneously
- Ability to increase and decrease in power or prestige over time
- Embodiment of contrasting traits like creation and destruction, benevolence and wrath
- Absorption of new identities and characteristics through syncretism and evolving folk beliefs
Scholars describe the nature of kami as “fluid” and “flexible” since they continually take on new roles and meanings without jettisoning older ones. For instance, a kami can function as a protective ancestral spirit for one family but also as a national symbol or cosmic Buddha manifestation simultaneously.
Hidden and Obscured Kami
Some kami take on a vague identity where they seem to inhabit a place, object, or concept without fully personifying it. These kami have a mystical, hidden quality and may or may not even have names. Folk rituals petition them for protection and abundance while acknowledging their elusive nature.
For example, an old shrine deep in the mountains may have an unnamed, ancient kami who simply serves as a guardian spirit for the surrounding woods and wildlife. Stories and rituals associated with hidden kami take on poetic and metaphorical tones which add to their mystery.
New Kami and Reinterpretations
Due to their flexibility, kami continually gain new meanings and roles that overlay older ones. Novel rituals, stories, and doctrines can reshape existing kami without eliminating previous folk beliefs. Modern technology kami such as Ebisu (patron of prosperity and fishermen) have been adapted into roles overseeing aspects of the information economy.
War dead enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine became powerful ancestral kami who were reinterpreted as protectors of the Japanese empire in the early 20th century. Deceased Shinto priests promoted novel doctrines giving further explanations of kami nature and activities. The result is an evolving landscape of kami theology.
Kami Rituals and Practices
Kami worship encompasses a variety of rituals, practices, and customs:
- Presenting offerings of foods, drinks, flowers, and sacred objects at shrines, temples, or outdoor shrines (hokora)
- Clapping and ringing bells to attract the kami’s attention before praying
- Uttering prayers while bowing and wishing for blessings, protection, prosperity, etc.
- Consulting oracles to receive messages from the kami
- Purification rituals like misogi (washing in sacred water) before communing with the kami
- Festivals with costumed kami mascots and parades of portable shrines (mikoshi)
- Appeasing angry or demonic kami through prayers and ceremonies
- Petitioning kami at small roadside shrines for traffic safety
These practices allow humans to venerate the kami and request their mystical intervention in exchange for devotion and offerings. They underscore the reciprocal, contractual nature of the human-kami relationship in Shinto.
Domestic Worship
In addition to public shrine rituals, Japanese households often have a domestic kami shelf (kamidana) for honoring protective spirits and ancestors. Ritual purity is stressed before approaching the kamidana and making offerings.
Ancestors are commemorated through domestic rituals on the anniversary of their death. These rituals allow living family members to express gratitude and ask the ancestral kami for continued blessings.
Festivals (Matsuri)
Throughout the year, Japanese communities host matsuri festivals centered on processing portable shrines (mikoshi) through the streets as an act of kami worship. Participants often wear special costumes during the festivities. Famous matsuri include the Gion Festival in Kyoto and the Nebuta Festival in Aomori.
These lively festivals strengthen communal bonds through shared kami worship. They also allow people to receive blessing by getting close to the divine presence transported in the mikoshi.
Kami in Contemporary Japan
Despite the passage of centuries and influence of modernization, kami worship remains an integral part of Japanese spirituality and culture today. Some characteristics of contemporary kami worship include:
- Well-populated public shrines like Meiji Jingū in Tokyo where visitors can easily commune with kami through ritual and offerings
- Sale of protective amulets and fortune papers at shrines for blessings
- Millions continue to practice domestic kami worship at home
- Prayers for success in school and business matters
- Cultural tourism to sites strongly associated with kami like Mt. Fuji or Itsukushima Shrine
- Folk beliefs about ritual purity and avoiding kami wrath through taboos
- Honoring ancestral kami of prominent families, arts, and historical eras
While Japan has modernized rapidly, the kami remain a potent spiritual force. Their flexible nature allows them to inhabit new social contexts and assume novel roles as Japanese society evolves.
New Religious Movements
New Japanese religious movements like Tenrikyo have their own kami theologies and rituals drawing on ancient folk beliefs. Tenrikyo has the kami Tenri-O-no-Mikoto as its founding deity and continues to grow as a faith in Japan and globally.
Additionally, some new religions like Oomoto worship traditional kami like Amaterasu as part of their blended belief system. Fushimi Inari Shrine, home of the kami Inari, now houses worship halls used by multiple new religions due to Inari’s popularity.
Conclusion
The indigenous Japanese concept of “kami” encompasses a rich array of meanings pivotal to understanding Shinto and Japanese spirituality. At its core, “kami” conveys the sacred, mystical forces that inhabit places, objects, natural elements, and even people in the Japanese religious landscape. Beyond Japan, “kami” provides vital insight into indigenous animism, tribal beliefs, worship of nature, and syncretic processes by which religions blend.
The diverse types and changing roles of kami reflect how seamlessly and flexibly Japanese religion synthesizes new influences without destroying old traditions. This cultural trait has allowed kami worship to persist as a constantly evolving nexus of spiritual life in Japan. From ancient mountains to modern megacities, the kami continue shaping Japanese ethics, society, culture, and identity today through their unseen presence and powers.