What Japanese Kami
Kami are the spirits gods and deities of japan s shinto religion.
What japanese kami. There are no records to show what it was like in ancient times and many details are unclear. Every year the emperor performs about 40 rituals praying to amaterasu for happiness for japan s people long existence of the nation and world peace. The third group is local kami although several of these are generic types recognised as powerful throughout japan. Japan s traditional faith based on worship of kami is known as shintō.
This is a wide concept that can be used to describe the spirits of deceased loved ones gods of japanese mythology animal spirits and even the deities of other religions such as buddha or bodhisattvas. It is believed by the shinto religion that the emperor of japan is a descendant of amaterasu omikami the sun goddess kami. They can also be the spirits of venerated dead people. There are the dragon kami the kami of crossroads and boundaries dosojin kami of prominent local natural features kami of villages and individual families.
They can be elements of the landscape forces of nature as well as beings and the qualities that these beings express.