Month 9, Day 12: Kami—The Deities or Spirits of Shinto

 

The word kami refers to the local deities revered in Shinto, Japan’s indigenous faith. It’s a word that can be either singular or plural, depending on whether you’re talking about one specific god or the whole mess of them.

As author Ian Reader explains in Simple Guides: Shinto:

“. . . [K]ami indicates or refers to a natural force or manifestation of energy or life-force within given objects or places, and to spirits and signs of spiritual energy within the world. It can also refer to, and includes, the divinities which . . . gave life to the earth and . . . the spirits of humans who have been influential or gifted in life and whose spirits may be transformed into kami . . . so that their gifts may continue to benefit the world.”

Kami can be found anywhere—in the natural landscape, in people, in animals. Anything that gives us a sense of awe or wonder may very well be kami.

Kami can be found in mountains, waterways, and other features of the natural world.

Some kami are local clan or family deities, who are believed to protect particular groups of people. These may have once been members of the clan who ascended to the status of kami after they died. Others, like Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, are viewed as universal deities (at least for all of Japan).

So, if there are lots of kami, does that mean Shinto is polytheistic? Well, it’s kind of like it was when we talked about Hinduism: The answer is both yes and no.

As Motohisa Yamakage writes in The Essence of Shinto: Japan’s Spiritual Heart:

“Kami are . . . not necessarily deities in the sense that is usually understood, but possess a wide variety of spiritual powers and attributes. Shinto can therefore be described as polytheistic in the context of its amatsukami [heavenly kami—which are only one of three types of kami, the other two being ‘earthly kami’ and ‘myriad other kami’—you’ve gotta love the Japanese sense of specificity!], who correspond most closely to the idea of ‘gods.’ However, it is also important to remember that all Kami are interconnected and spring from a single source—the essence of Shinto.”

Confusing? Yeah, maybe a little. The point is that not all kami are gods in the bold, broad sense of “God.” Some—maybe most—are minor spirits that inhabit creatures or places, giving Shinto a bit of an animistic flair.

I like the idea of kami. The kami who appear in Shinto stories are a lot like the gods you read about in Greek mythology. They fight, they scheme, they have sex (sorry, Christianity, but horny gods are just a LOT more fun!).

The kami also depend on us, on human beings, both for their strength and, in some cases, in order to become kami at all. Our prayers and veneration have the power to transform a dead person’s spirit into a full-fledged kami.

I love the idea that we kind of have a vote when it comes to who gets to become a god and who doesn’t. It’s so deliciously democratic. Maybe I need to start campaigning for votes (or, rather, prayers) now so I’ll have a better chance of becoming a kami myself after I’m dead. I bet I could give that Amaterasu a run for her money.