‘The term _Kami_ is applied in the first place to the various deities of Heaven and Earth who are mentioned in the ancient records as well as to their spirits (_mi-tama_) which reside in the shrines where they are worshipped. Moreover, not only human beings, but birds, beasts, plants and trees, seas and mountains, and all other things whatsoever which deserve to be dreaded and revered for the extraordinary and pre-eminent powers which they possess, are called _Kami_. They need not be eminent for surpassing nobleness, goodness, or serviceableness alone. Malignant and uncanny beings are also called _Kami_ if only they are the objects of general dread. Among _Kami_ who are human beings I need hardly mention first of all the successive Mikados—with reverence be it spoken.... Then there have been numerous examples of divine human beings both in ancient and modern times, who, although not accepted by the nation generally, are treated as gods, each of his several dignity, in a single province, village, or family.... Amongst _Kami_ who are not human beings, I need hardly mention Thunder [in Japanese _Naru Kami_ or the Sounding God]. There are also the Dragon, the Echo [called in Japanese _Ko-dama_ or the Tree Spirit] and the Fox, who are _Kami_ by reason of their uncanny and fearful natures. The term _Kami_ is applied in the _Nihongi_ and _Manyōshiu_ to the tiger and the wolf. Izanagi gave to the fruit of the peach, and to the jewels round his neck names which implied that they were _Kami_.... There are many cases of seas and mountains being called _Kami_. It is not their spirits which are meant. The word was applied directly to the seas or mountains themselves as being very awful things.’ =The Kami-Beneficent.=—The saying of the old Roman poet that ‘Fear first made the Gods’ does not hold good of Shinto. It is rather, as Schiller called the worship of the gods of Greece, a _Wonnedienst_, a religion inspired by love and gratitude more than by fear. The three greatest gods, viz. the Sun-goddess, the Food-goddess, and Ohonamochi (a god of Earth, the universal provider), are all beneficent beings, though they may send a curse when offended by the neglect of their worship or an insult to their shrines. Their worshippers come before them with gladness, addressing them as fathers, parents, or dear divine ancestors, and their festivals are occasions of rejoicing. But there are some malevolent or mischievous deities who have to be propitiated by offerings. The Fire-god, as is natural in a country where the houses are built of wood and great conflagrations are frequent, is one of these, and, in a lesser degree, the Thunder-god and the deity of the Rain-storm. The latter has, however, good points. He provides trees for the use of humanity, and rescues a maiden from being devoured by a great serpent. Lafcadio Hearn’s view that Shinto was at one time a religion of ‘perpetual fear’ is unsupported by evidence.