"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.[3] 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 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[4] or mountains themselves as being very awful things." Hirata defines _kami_ as a term which comprises all things strange, wondrous, and possessing _isao_ or virtue. A recent dictionary gives the following essentially modern definitions of this word :-- _Kami_. 1. Something which has no form but is only spirit, has unlimited supernatural power, dispenses calamity and good fortune, punishes crime and rewards virtue. 2. Sovereigns of all times, wise and virtuous men, valorous and heroic persons whose spirits are prayed to after their death. 3. Divine things which transcend human intellect. 4. The Christian God, Creator, Supreme Lord. =Double Current of Religious Thought=.--If we accept the definition of a God as a sentient being possessed of superhuman power, it follows that the idea of God may be arrived at in two ways. We may ascribe sense to those superhuman elemental powers of whose action we are daily witnesses, or we may reverse this process and endow sentient beings, especially men, with powers which they do not actually possess. In other words, the idea of God may be arrived at either by personification or by deification.