![]() ![]() The word “megami” ( 女神 ?), the use of female Kami is a fairly new tradition. Gender is also not implied in the word Kami, and as such it can be used to reference either male or female. The logograms for kami-sama are those used for shén yàng in Pŭtōnghuà kami-sama can be used for a divinity, or for an outstanding human, such as Tezuka Osamu, “the god of manga.” The term generally used to refer to multiple Kami is Kamigami. When a singular concept is needed, “-kami” ( 神 ?) or “-kamisama” ( 神様 ?) 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, it is sometimes unclear whether Kami refers to a single or multiple entities.Following the discovery of the Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai it is now known that the medieval word Kami (上) meaning “above” is a false cognate with the modern kami (Buk Lao), and the etymology of “heavenly beings” is therefore incorrect.An apparently cognate form, perhaps a loanword, occurs in the Ainu language as kamuy and 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.The wide variety of usage of the word can be compared to the Sanskrit Deva and the Hebrew Elohim, which also refer to God, gods, angels or spirits. Īlthough gods “ 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” (心霊), “God” (ゴッド), “ supreme being” (至上者), “one of the Shinto deities”, an effigy, a principle and anything that is worshipped. Kami is the Japanese word for a god, deity, divinity, or spirit. In this way, the ambiguity of the meaning of Kami is necessary, as it conveys the ambiguous nature of Kami themselves. Though the word Kami is translated in multiple ways into English, no one English word expresses its full meaning. 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). Kami are believed to be “hidden” from this world, and inhabit a complementary existence that mirrors our own, shinkai (神界). 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, good and evil characteristics. Traditionally, great or charismatic leaders like the Emperor could be kami. Many Kami are considered the ancient ancestors of entire clans, and some ancestors became Kami upon their death if they were able to embody the values and virtues of Kami in life. They are elements in nature, animals, creationary forces in the universe, as well as spirits of the revered deceased. Kami ( Japanese: 神 ?) are the spirits or phenomena that are worshiped in the religion of Shinto. ![]()
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