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These kami are celebrated regionally, and several miniature shrines hokora have been built in their honor. In many cases, people who once lived are thus revered; an example of this is Tenjin , who was Sugawara no Michizane CE in life. Within Shinto it is believed that the nature of life is sacred, because the kami began human life. Yet people cannot perceive this divine nature, which the kami created, on their own; therefore, magokoro , or purification, is necessary in order to see the divine nature. In order to please the kami and earn magokoro, Shinto followers are taught to uphold the four affirmations of Shinto.
The first affirmation is to hold fast to tradition and the family. Family is seen as the main mechanism by which traditions are preserved. For instance, in marriage or birth, tradition is potentially observed and passed onto future generations. The second affirmation is to have a love of nature. Nature objects are worshipped as sacred, because the kami inhabit them.
Therefore, to be in contact with nature means to be in contact with the gods. The third affirmation is to maintain physical cleanliness. Followers of Shinto take baths, wash their hands, and rinse out their mouths often. The last affirmation is to practice matsuri , which is the worship and honor given to the kami and ancestral spirits.
Shinto followers also believe that the kami are the ones who can either grant blessings or curses to a person. Shinto believers desire to appease the evil kami to "stay on their good side", and also to please the good kami. In addition to practicing the four affirmations daily, Shinto believers also wear omamori to aid them in remaining pure and protected. Mamori are charms that keep the evil kami from striking a human with sickness or causing disaster to befall them. The kami are both worshipped and respected within the religion of Shinto.
The goal of life to Shinto believers is to obtain magokoro , a pure sincere heart, which can only be granted by the kami. One of the first recorded rituals we know of is Niiname-sai, [11] the ceremony in which the Emperor offers newly harvested rice to the kami to secure their blessing for a bountiful harvest. A yearly festival, Niiname-sai is also performed when a new Emperor comes to power , in which case it is called Onamesai.
In the ceremony the Emperor offers crops from the new harvest to the kami, including rice, fish, fruits, soup, and stew. The Emperor first feasts with the deities, then the guests. The feast could go on for some time; for example, the Showa Emperor 's feast spanned two days. Visitors to a Shinto shrine follow a purification ritual before presenting themselves to the kami. This ritual begins with hand washing, and swallowing and later spitting a small amount of water in front of the shrine to purify the body, heart, and mind.
The traditional method of doing this is to bow twice, clap twice and bow again, alerting the kami to their presence and desire to commune with them. During the last bow, the supplicant offers words of gratitude and praise to the kami; if they are offering a prayer for aid they will also state their name and address. Shinto practitioners also worship at home.
This is done at a kamidana household shrine , on which an ofuda kami name card or charm card with the name of their protector or ancestral kami is positioned. Ascetic practices, shrine rituals and ceremonies, and Japanese festivals are the most public ways that Shinto devotees celebrate and offer adoration for the kami. Kami are celebrated during their distinct festivals that usually take place at the shrines dedicated to their worship. Many festivals involve believers, who are usually intoxicated, parading, sometimes running, toward the shrine while carrying mikoshi portable shrines as the community gathers for the festival ceremony.
Yamamoto Guji, the high priest at the Tsubaki Grand Shrine , explains that this practice honors the kami because "it is in the festival, the matsuri, the greatest celebration of life can be seen in the world of Shinto and it is the people of the community who attend festivals as groups, as a whole village who are seeking to unlock the human potential as children of kami.
Offerings are also made to the ancestors so that they will bless the family in the future year. Shinto ceremonies are so long and complex that in some shrines it can take ten years for the priests to learn them. Some shrines have drawn their priests from the same families for over a hundred generations. Rather, they are considered specialists in the arts of maintaining the connection between the kami and the people. In addition to these festivals, ceremonies marking rites of passage are also performed within the shrines.
Two such ceremonies are the birth of a child and the Shichi-Go-San. Noh , kyogen , bunraku , and kabuki plays derived from folk tales feature them, [46] [47] as do contemporary works such as anime , manga and video games. Japanese metal idol band Babymetal refer to the kitsune myth in their lyrics and include the use of fox masks, hand signs, and animation interludes during live shows. Kitsune are associated with Inari, the Shinto deity of rice.
Likewise, entire shrines are dedicated to kitsune, where devotees can leave offerings. Foxes have long been worshipped as kami. Inari's kitsune are white, a color of good omen. In addition to protecting Inari shrines, they are petitioned to intervene on behalf of the locals and particularly to aid against troublesome nogitsune , those spirit foxes who do not serve Inari.
Black foxes and nine-tailed foxes are likewise considered good omens.
This is a list of divinities native to Japanese beliefs and religious traditions. Many of these are Fūjin (風神) Also known as Kami-no-Kaze, he is the Japanese god of the wind and one of .. Create a book · Download as PDF · Printable version. Japanese mythology embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally-based The Shinto pantheon comprises innumerable kami ( Japanese for "god(s)" or "spirits"). deities from a Buddhist perspective, while the Hotsuma Tsutae records a substantially different version of the mythology. solar power.
According to beliefs derived from fusui feng shui , the fox's power over evil is such that a mere statue of a fox can dispel the evil kimon , or energy, that flows from the northeast. Many Inari shrines, such as the famous Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto , feature such statues, sometimes large numbers of them. Kitsune are connected to the Buddhist religion through the Dakiniten , goddesses conflated with Inari's female aspect.
Dakiniten is depicted as a female boddhisattva wielding a sword and riding a flying white fox. Kitsune are often presented as tricksters , with motives that vary from mischief to malevolence. Stories tell of kitsune playing tricks on overly proud samurai , greedy merchants, and boastful commoners, while the crueler ones abuse poor tradesmen and farmers or devout Buddhist monks. Their victims are usually men; women are possessed instead. A traditional game called kitsune-ken fox-fist references the kitsune's powers over human beings.
The game is similar to rock, paper, scissors , but the three hand positions signify a fox, a hunter, and a village headman. The headman beats the hunter, whom he outranks; the hunter beats the fox, whom he shoots; the fox beats the headman, whom he bewitches. This ambiguous portrayal, coupled with their reputation for vengefulness, leads people to try to discover a troublesome fox's motives. In one case, the 16th-century leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi wrote a letter to the kami Inari:. My lord, I have the honor to inform you that one of the foxes under your jurisdiction has bewitched one of my servants, causing her and others a great deal of trouble.
I have to request that you make minute inquiries into the matter, and endeavor to find out the reason of your subject misbehaving in this way, and let me know the result. If it turns out that the fox has no adequate reason to give for his behavior, you are to arrest and punish him at once. If you hesitate to take action in this matter I shall issue orders for the destruction of every fox in the land.
Any other particulars that you may wish to be informed of in reference to what has occurred, you can learn from the high priest of Yoshida. Kitsune keep their promises and strive to repay any favor. Occasionally a kitsune attaches itself to a person or household, where they can cause all sorts of mischief. In one story from the 12th century, only the homeowner's threat to exterminate the foxes convinces them to behave. The kitsune patriarch appears in the man's dreams:. My father lived here before me, sir, and by now I have many children and grandchildren.
They get into a lot of mischief, I'm afraid, and I'm always after them to stop, but they never listen. And now, sir, you're understandably fed up with us. I gather that you're going to kill us all. But I just want you to know, sir, how sorry I am that this is our last night of life.
Won't you pardon us, one more time? If we ever make trouble again, then of course you must act as you think best. We'll do everything we can to protect you from now on, if only you'll forgive us, and we'll be sure to let you know when anything good is going to happen!
Other kitsune use their magic for the benefit of their companion or hosts as long as the human beings treat them with respect. Accordingly, common households thought to harbor kitsune are treated with suspicion. They first try to scare him away, then claim that the house "has been ours for many years, and Tales distinguish kitsune gifts from kitsune payments. If a kitsune offers a payment or reward that includes money or material wealth, part or all of the sum will consist of old paper, leaves, twigs, stones, or similar valueless items under a magical illusion.
Kitsune are commonly portrayed as lovers, usually in stories involving a young human male and a kitsune who takes the form of a human woman. The man eventually discovers the fox's true nature, and the fox-wife is forced to leave him. In some cases, the husband wakes as if from a dream, filthy, disoriented, and far from home. He must then return to confront his abandoned family in shame.
Many stories tell of fox-wives bearing children. When such progeny are human, they possess special physical or supernatural qualities that often pass to their own children. Other stories tell of kitsune marrying one another. Stephen Turnbull, in "Nagashino ", relates the tale of the Takeda clan's involvement with a fox-woman. One head suggests that they simply smash the barrier, but that would knock over the sake.
Another proposed that they combine their fiery breath and burn the fence to ash, but then the sake would evaporate. The heads begin to search for an opening. They find the hatches, and, eager for the sake, they wish to poke their heads through to drink it. Yet, the eighth head, which is the wisest, warns his brethren about the folly of such an act and volunteers to go through first to ensure that all is well. Susanoo waits for his chance. He allows the head to drink some sake in safety and to report to the others that there is no danger.
All eight heads plunge through the hatches and greedily drink every drop of the sake.
As the heads finish, Susanoo launches his attack on Orochi. Drunken from drinking so much sake, the great serpent is no match for the spry Susanoo who decapitates and slays Orochi. A nearby river is said to have turned red with the blood of the defeated serpent. As Susanoo cuts the dragon into pieces, he finds an excellent sword from a tail of the dragon that his sword had been unable to cut. This sword was to feature prominently in many other tales. It is found in Kojiki but not recorded in the "Nihongi". They started out of their homeland of Izumo headed for the neighboring province, when the group encountered a rabbit who has been flayed by crocodile-fish, usually interpreted as sharks and lying in agony upon a sea shore.
In a wicked-hearted gesture, they advise the rabbit to bathe in the briny sea and blow himself dry in the wind. The rabbit finds himself in worse agony. In the Nihongi here begins the section entitled "Age of the Gods: It represents Japan, not the whole world , and dispatched various members of their own kind to subjugate it.
Amaterasu had decreed her own grandson Ninigi to rule over the terrestrial world, but the terrestrial gods kuni-tsu-kami were not altogether willing to hand it over, and odd sorts of terrestrial gods were still lurking about making it too dangerous. Some of the gods first appointed to quell the middle world were derelict in their mission, or joined leagues with the terrestrial gods. After several false starts, two gods were finally successful. The mirror was to be worshipped as a representation of Amaterasu.
A number of deities were made to make the descent at this time. Ninigi met Konohanasakuya-hime symbol of flowers , the daughter of Yamatsumi master of mountains , and they fell in love. Ninigi asked Yamatsumi for his daughter's hand. The father was delighted and offered both of his daughters, Iwanaga symbol of rocks and Sakuya symbol of flowers.
However, Ninigi married only Sakuya and refused Iwanaga. Consequently, Ninigi and his descendants became mortal. Sakuya conceived by a night and Ninigi doubted her. To prove legitimacy of her children, Sakuya swore by her luck and took a chance; she set fire to her room when she had given birth to her three babies. By this, Ninigi knew her chastity. The names of the children were Hoderi, Hosuseri and Ho w ori. Ninigi's elder son Hoderi or "Fire-Shine" had the gift of the bounty of the sea, and gained his livelihood by fishing and bore the nickname Umisachihiko or "Luck of the Sea".
The younger son Hoori or "Fire-Fade" had the gift of the bounty of the mountains, and was a hunter and nicknamed Yamasachihiko or "Luck of the Mountains". One day, Luck of the Mountains asked his elder brother Luck of the Sea to exchange their tools and swap places for a day. He wanted to try his bid at fishing.
But he did not catch a single fish, and worse, he lost his borrowed fishhook. To make amends, he shattered the very sword he was wearing to make a hundred, then a thousand hooks to replace what he lost, but the elder brother would accept nothing but the original fishhook.
There he had a fateful meeting with the Sea God's daughter Princess Toyotama , and married her. After three years, he remembered his brother and his fishhook, and was longing to return home. Watatsumi gathered his piscean minions, and soon the fishhook was found in the throat of a bream tai and restored to Luck of the Mountains. The Sea God also imparted two magical balls: And he gave additional strategic advice to gain advantage from his contentious elder brother. The pregnant Princess Toyotama built a cormorant feather-thatched maternity house and pleaded her husband for privacy, as she would be reverting to her true shape while delivering her child.
But Ho w ori Luck of the Mountains was overcome with curiosity, and peeped inside to discover her transformed into a crawling 8-fathom "croc-fish" shark , dragon [23] , and scuttered away in fright. Ashamed and disgusted by her husband's breach of trust, she abandoned the newborn and returned to sea. The infant prince was named Ugaya meaning "cormorant house". Ugaya married his aunt, the sea princess Tamayori and had five children, including Yamatobiko, who was later to become Emperor Jimmu. He is the son of Ugaya , descendent of Ninigi , and the sea princess Tamayori. His given name was Hiko-hohodemi.
After taking control of Yamato province , he established the imperial throne and acceded in the year of kanoto tori conventionally dated to B. His pedigree is summarized as follows. The plot was suppressed, and the younger prince who had the courage to pluck the bow and shoot Tagishishimi fatally was cede the crown to become the next emperor, Suizei. Of the eight emperors who succeeded Jimmu, there is very little record of their deeds, so they are described collectively under Book III of Nihon Shoki.
Regarding Emperor Suizei, the foregoing description of how he suppressed his elder brother's insurrection. And for the other legendary rulers, not much more than their genealogy is given. The 10th Emperor Sujin [30] [31] is discussed in the Nihon Shoki. Nihon shoki Suinin 28; 2 B. This emperor allegedly decided this practice was cruel and must cease; and, four years later, he adopted the idea forwarded by Nomi no Sukune to bury clay figurines called haniwa instead of live men.
But by the time he returned, the Emperor was dead. The Kojiki identifies the fruit as the tachibana , a type of small, sour citrus. The Nihon shoki dates Tajimamori's travel to Suinin 90 purportedly 61 A. It is probably more typical to find lists of items and weapons that appear in the Japanese mythology. However, here is a tentative list of creatures:.
Many deities appear in Japanese mythology, and many of them have multiple aliases. Furthermore, some of their names are comparatively long. This article therefore lists only the most prominent names, and gives them in one of their abbreviated forms, other abbreviated forms are also in use. In some parts of this article, proper names are written in a historical manner. In this article, underlined h , y , and w denote silent letters; they are omitted from modern spelling.
Other syllables are modernized as follows see also Japanese romanization systems. Note that some blend of these conventions is also often used.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For the Japanese pantheon, see List of Japanese deities.