Aizen Myō-ō
Rāgarāja is a deity venerated in the Esoteric and Vajrayana Buddhist traditions. He is especially revered in Chinese Esoteric Buddhism in Chinese communities as well as Shingon and Tendai in Japan.
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Pantheon
Japanese
Every entry the archive files to this pantheon, with the record for each shown as it stands.
136 entries
Filed under
- Culture
- Japanese (Shinto)
- Civilization
- Japan
- Period
- 300 CE – present
These three are recorded for the Japanese pantheon as a whole. The archive holds no separate culture, civilization or period for the individual entries below.
Page 1 of 2
Japanese entries, continued
Showing 1–108 of 136, alphabetically.
Ajisukitakahikone
Ajisukitakahikone is a kami in Japanese mythology. He is one of the sons of Ōkuninushi and the tutelary deity of Kamo.
Akkorokamui
Akkorokamui is a gigantic octopus-like monster from Ainu folklore, similar to the Nordic kraken, which supposedly lurks in Uchiura Bay in Hokkaido.
Ama-no-Iwato
Ama-no-Iwato is a cave in Japanese mythology. According to the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, the bad behavior of Susano'o, the Japanese god of storms, drove his sister Amaterasu into the Ama-no-Iwato cave. The land was thus deprived of light.
Ama-Tsu-Mara
Amatsumara(天津麻羅) or also known as “Amenomahitotsu” is the Shinto kami of ironworking and blacksmiths. He was discussed in the Kojiki and is associated to the giant yōkai Daidarabocchi. He is also the patron kami for blacksmiths.
Amamikyu
Amamikyu , or Amekushin-otome-ōankami (天久臣乙女王御神), is the creation goddess of the Ryukyu Islands in the Ryukyuan religion.
Amano-Iwato
Ama-no-Iwato is a cave in Japanese mythology. According to the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, the bad behavior of Susano'o, the Japanese god of storms, drove his sister Amaterasu into the Ama-no-Iwato cave. The land was thus deprived of light.
Amanozako
Amanozako is a monstrous goddess mentioned in the Kujiki, which states that she originated when Susanoo let his own ferocious spirit build up inside him until he vomited her out.
Amaterasu
Amaterasu Ōmikami , often called Amaterasu for short, also known as Amateru Kami (天照神) and Ōhirume no Muchi (大日孁貴), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (kami) of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, as the ruler of the heavenly realm Takamagahara and as the mythical ancestress of the Imperial House of Japan via her grandson Ninigi. Along with two of her siblings she ranks as one of the "Three Precious Children", the three most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi.
Amaterasu Ōmikami
Amaterasu Ōmikami , often called Amaterasu for short, also known as Amateru Kami (天照神) and Ōhirume no Muchi (大日孁貴), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (kami) of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, as the ruler of the heavenly realm Takamagahara and as the mythical ancestress of the Imperial House of Japan via her grandson Ninigi. Along with two of her siblings she ranks as one of the "Three Precious Children", the three most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi.
Amatsu-Mikaboshi
Amatsu-Mikaboshi (天津甕星), also called Ame-no-Kagaseo (天香香背男) or Hoshi-no-Kami Kagaseo (星神香香背男), is a god of stars who appears in Japanese mythology. No reference to Mikaboshi is made in the Kojiki, however, he plays a minor role in the Nihon Shoki as a deity insubordinate to the amatsukami during the latter's subjugation of the land.
Amatsukami
Amatsukami , also called tenjin, is a category of kami in Japanese mythology. Generally speaking, it refers to kami born in, or residing in, Takamagahara.
Ame-no-Fuyukinu
Ame-no-Fuyukinu is the son of Omizunu and Futemimi, the husband of Sashikuniwaka-hime and the father of Ōkuninushi(Ōnamuchi).
Ame-no-Koyane
Ame-no-Koyane-no-mikoto is a kami and a male deity in Japanese mythology and Shinto. He is the ancestral god of the Nakatomi clan, and Fujiwara no Kamatari, the founder of the powerful Fujiwara clan. An Amatsukami, 'Kami of heaven', he resides in Takamagahara.
Ame-no-Minakanushi
Ame-no-Minakanushi is a deity (kami) in Japanese mythology, portrayed in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki as the first or one of the first deities who manifested when heaven and earth came into existence.
Ame-no-Nuboko
Ame-no-Nuboko , also known simply by the Kan-on reading Tenkei , is the name given to the hoko (lance) used to raise the primordial land-mass, Onogoro Island, from the sea in Japanese religion. It is often represented as a naginata.
Ame-no-ohabari
Ame-no-Ohabari is a legendary Japanese sword. that roughly translates to "Heaven-Point-Blade-Extended". It is primarily found in the mythology of Izumo Province.
Ame-no-oshihomimi
Amenooshihomimi (天忍穗耳尊,天之忍穂耳命) or Oshihomimi for short, is the first son of Amaterasu.
Ame-no-Tajikarao
Ame-no-tajikarao (アメノタヂカラオ) is a Japanese deity (kami) of physical strength who appears in Japanese mythology. Ame-no-tajikarao is written as 天手力男神 in Kojiki, and 天手力雄神 in Nihon Shoki. Tajikarao's name means sky-hand-power-male.
Ame-no-Uzume
Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto is the goddess of humor, dancing happiness, joy, dawn, mirth, meditation, revelry and the arts in the Shinto religion of Japan, and the wife of fellow-god Sarutahiko Ōkami. She famously helped draw out the missing sun deity, Amaterasu Omikami, when she had hidden herself in a cave. Her name can also be pronounced as Ama-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto.
Amenohoakari
Amenohoakari (天火明) is a kami of sun and agriculture in Japanese mythology. The Shinsen Shōjiroku marks his descendants as descendants of kami .
Amitabha
Amitābha, also known as Amituofo in Chinese, Amida Butsu in Japanese, Amita-bul in Korean, Avid in Mongolian, A Di Đà Phật in Vietnamese, and Öpakmé in Tibetan, is one of the main Buddhas of Mahayana Buddhism and the most widely venerated Buddhist figure in East Asian Buddhism. Amitābha is also known by the name Amitāyus.
Arahitogami
Arahitogami (現人神) is a Japanese word, meaning a kami who is a human being. It first appeared in the Nihon Shoki as the words of Yamato Takeru saying: "I am the son of an arahitogami.
Asuha-no-kami
Ikasuri Shrine is a major Shinto shrine located in central Osaka, Japan. Its annual festival is on April 22. In the former modern system of ranked Shinto shrines it was an imperial shrine of the second rank or kanpei-chūsha (官幣中社).
Atago Gongen
Atago Gongen (愛宕権現) also known as Tarōbō (太郎坊), Atago Daigongen (愛宕大権現), Shōgun Jizō (勝軍地蔵) of Mount Atago is a Japanese kami and tengu believed to be the local avatar (Gongen) of Buddhist bodhisattva Jizō and Shinto goddess Izanami. He is mounted on a white horse and carries a ringed staff and desire-cancelling jewel. The cult originated in Shugendō practices on Mount Atago in Kyoto, and Atago Gongen is worshiped as a protector against fire and a god of war and victory by Samurai.
Azumi-no-isora
Azumi-no-isora is a Shinto kami of the seashore. He is considered to be the ancestor of the Azumi people. He is worshiped at a number of shrines, including Mekari Shrine (和布刈神社) of Kitakyushu, Shikaumi Shrine on Shika Island, and Shiga Shrine (志賀神社) of Tsushima.
Chinjugami
Chinjugami is a kami that is worshipped in order to gain its protections for a specific building or region. In modern times, it is often conflated with ujigami and ubusunagami. A shrine enshrining a chinjugami is called a chinjusha.
Family tree of Japanese deities
This is a family tree of Japanese deities. It covers early emperors until Emperor Ojin, the first definitively known historical emperor, see family tree of Japanese monarchs for a continuation of the royal line into historical times.
Fūjin
Fūjin or Fūten , sometimes also known as Ryobu, is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto and Buddhist gods. He is portrayed as a terrifying wizardly demon, resembling a red-haired, green-skinned humanoid wearing a tiger or leopard skin loincloth/kilt, carrying a large, inflated bag of winds on his shoulders. In Japanese art, the deity is often depicted together with his twin-brother, Raijin, the god of lightning & thunder, and together, along with their brother, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, they are the Shinto gods (Kami) of storms.
Fujiwara clan
The Fujiwara clan was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since ancient times and dominated the imperial court until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. They held the title of Ason.
Futsunushi
Futsunushi , also known as Iwainushi , is a warrior god in Japanese mythology. Also known under the epithet Katori Daimyōjin (香取大明神) after his shrine in northern Chiba Prefecture, Katori Jingū, he is often revered alongside Takemikazuchi, with whom he is closely associated. He is the general of Amaterasu and regarded as a legendary ancestor of the Mononobe clan, and like Takemikazuchi is one of the tutelary deities of the Fujiwara clan.
Hachiman
Hachiman , formerly known in Shinto as Yawata, is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements from both Shinto and Japanese Buddhism.
Himegami
Himegami is a Shinto goddess. The term may refer to a specific goddess or an unknown female goddess. Typically a himegami is a consort of a male god, hikogami.
Himuro Shrine
Himuro Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 710. Kami enshrined here include Tsugenoinagi oyamanushi no mikoto, Emperor Nintoku and Nukata no Onakatsuhiko no Mikoto (額田大仲彦命).
Hitorigami
Hitorigami (独神) are kami who came into being alone, as opposed to those who came into being as male-female pairs. According to the Kojiki, this group includes the "three deities of creation" and the "separate heavenly kami. " They are described as having hidden their bodies or their forms not being visible.
Hoderi
Umisachi-hiko (海佐知毘古/海幸彦), in Japanese mythology and folklore, was a deity of the bounty of the sea and enchanted fisherman.
Hoori
Hoori (火折) or Hoori no Mikoto (火折尊), also known as Hikohohodemi no Mikoto (彦火火出見尊), is a god in Japanese mythology, the third and youngest son of Ninigi and Sakuyahime. He is one of the ancestors of the Emperors of Japan as the grandfather of Emperor Jimmu. He is also known as Yamasachihiko (山幸彦).
Inari Ōkami
Inari Ōkami , also called Ō-Inari (大稲荷), is the Japanese kami of foxes, fertility, rice, tea, sake, agriculture and industry, and general prosperity and worldly success, and is one of the principal kami of Shinto. The name Inari can be literally translated into "rice-bearer". In earlier Japan, Inari was also the patron of swordsmiths and merchants.
Inugami
Inugami , like kitsunetsuki, is a spiritual possession by the spirit of a dog, widely known about in western Japan. They seemed firmly rooted until recent years in eastern Ōita Prefecture, Shimane Prefecture, and a part of Kōchi Prefecture in northern Shikoku, and it is also theorized that Shikoku, where no foxes (kitsune) could be found, is the main base of the inugami. Furthermore, traces of belief in inugami exists in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, all of Kyushu, even going past the Satsunan Islands all the way to the Okinawa Prefecture.
Isetsuhiko
Isetsuhiko-no-mikoto is an obscure Japanese god of the wind who appears in both the Fudoki of Ise Province and the Fudoki of Harima Province.
Itsuse no Mikoto
Itsuse no Mikoto is a Japanese deity. He was the older brother of Emperor Jimmu.
Iwanagahime
Iwanagahime is a kami in Japanese mythology. She is the goddess of immortality. She is also the daughter of Ōyamatsumi, and sister to Sakuyahime.
Iwasaku and Nesaku
Iwasaku and Nesaku are two kami in Shinto. They are often worshipped in star shrines in the northern Kantō region.
Izanagi
Izanagi (イザナギ/伊邪那岐/伊弉諾), formally referred to with a divine honorific as Izanagi-no-Mikoto , is the creator deity (kami) of both creation and life in Japanese mythology. He and his sister-wife Izanami are the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the formation of heaven and earth. Izanagi and Izanami are held to be the creators of the Japanese archipelago and the progenitors of many deities, which include the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon deity Tsukuyomi, and the storm god Susanoo.
Izanami
Izanami (イザナミ), formally referred to with the honorific Izanami-no-Mikoto , is the creator of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother-husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the formation of heaven and earth. Izanami and Izanagi are held to be the creators of the Japanese archipelago and the progenitors of many deities, which include the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the storm god Susanoo.
Japanese wolf
The Japanese wolf, also known as the Honshū wolf, is an extinct subspecies of the gray wolf that was once endemic to the islands of Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū in the Japanese archipelago.
Jinushigami
Jinushigami (地主神), also known as jigami (地神), tochigami (土地神), chi no kami , or jinushisama (地主様), are Shinto folk deities, or kami, of an area of land.
Jūzenji
Jūzenji (十禅師) is a Japanese deity associated with Hiyoshi Taisha and Enryaku-ji. He was worshipped as one of the seven key emanations of Sanno Gongen.
Kagu-tsuchi
Kagutsuchi, also known as Hi-no-Kagutsuchi or Homusubi among other names, is the kami of fire in classical Japanese mythology.
Kami
Kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, and mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. Kami can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, beings and the qualities that these beings express, as well as the spirits of venerated dead people. Many kami are considered the ancient ancestors of entire clans.
Kamimusubi
Kamimusubi, also known as Kamimusuhi among other variants, is a kami and god of creation in Japanese mythology. They are a hitorigami, and the third of the first three kami to come into existence (Kotoamatsukami), alongside Ame-no-Minakanushi and Takamimusubi, forming a trio at the beginning of all creation. The name is composed of kami, denoting deity, and musubi, meaning "effecting force of creation".
Kamiyonanayo
In Japanese mythology, the Kamiyonanayo are the seven generations of kami that emerged after the formation of heaven and earth(Tenchi-kaibyaku).
Kamo no Okimi
Kamo no Okimi was the son of Kotoshironushi and Tamakushi-hime, and brother of Himetataraisuzu-hime. He was an ancestor of the Kamo clan, and by extension through Ōtataneko (太田田根子) the Miwa clan.
Kamuo Ichihime
Kamuō Ichihime is a Japanese goddess. She is a daughter of Ōyamatsumi.
Kikurihime
Kikurihime no Kami (菊理媛神), also Kikurihime no Mikoto (菊理媛命), is a Japanese Shinto goddess venerated as Shirayama Hime (白山比咩) at Shirayama Hime Shrine in Hakusan, Ishikawa Prefecture. She is equated with the mountain Hakusan (白山) in Ishikawa province at Hakusanhime shrine. She is mentioned in the Nihongi, but not in the Kojiki.
Kisumimi
Kisumimi-no-mikoto is a character in Japanese mythology, a male deity and the son of the first Emperor Jimmu. He is the younger brother of Tagishimimi and some speculate they were the same person.
Kitsune
The kitsune , in popular Japanese folklore, is a fox or fox spirit which possesses the supernatural ability to shapeshift or bewitch other life forms.
Kodama (spirit)
Kodama are spirits in Japanese folklore that inhabit trees. The term is also used to denote a tree in which a kodama supposedly resides. The phenomenon known as yamabiko, when sounds make a delayed echoing effect in mountains and valleys, is sometimes attributed to this kind of spirit and may also be referred to as "kodama".
Kōjin
Kōjin, also known as Sambō-Kōjin or Sanbō-Kōjin , is the Japanese kami (god) of fire, the hearth and the kitchen. He is sometimes called Kamado-gami, literally the god of the stove. He represents violent forces that are turned toward the betterment of humankind.
Konohanachiru-hime
Konohanachiru-hime is a Japanese goddess.
Konohanasakuya-hime
Konohanasakuya-hime is the kami of Mount Fuji and all volcanoes in Japanese mythology; she is also the 'blossom princess' and symbol of delicate earthly life. She is often considered an avatar of Japanese life, especially since her symbol is the cherry blossom (sakura).
Kotoamatsukami
In Shinto, Kotoamatsukami is the collective name for the first gods which came into existence at the time of the creation of the universe. They were born in Takamagahara, the world of Heaven at the time of the creation. Unlike the later gods, these deities were born without any procreation.
Kotoshironushi
Kotoshironushi (事代主神), also known as Yae Kotoshironushi no kami (八重言代主神), is a Shinto kami.
Kuebiko
Kuebiko (久延毘古) is the Shinto kami of folk wisdom, knowledge and agriculture, and is represented in Japanese mythology as a scarecrow who cannot walk but has comprehensive awareness.
Kunado-no-Kami
Kunado-no-Kami, alternately Kunato-no-Kami, Funado-no-Kami, Funato-no-Kami, or Chimata-no-Kami, are Japanese local gods connected chiefly with protection against disaster and malicious spirits.
Kuni-no-Tokotachi
In Shinto faith, Kuninotokotachi (国之常立神; Kuninotokotachi-no-Kami, in Kojiki) (国常立尊; Kuninotokotachi-no-Mikoto, in Nihon Shoki ) or Kuni-toko-tachi is one of the two Gods born from "something like a reed that arose from the soil" when the Earth was chaotic. In the Kojiki, he is the first of the seven generations of Divinities born after the first five divinities were born at the time of the creation of the Universe. In the Nihon Shoki, he is the first of the three divinities born after Heaven and Earth were born out of chaos, and is born from something looking like a reed-shoot growing between heaven and earth.
Kunitama
Kunitama (国魂) is a type of kami or god who acts as a tutelary deity or guardian of a province of Japan or sometimes other areas in Shinto.
Kushinadahime
Kushinadahime (櫛名田比売、くしなだひめ), also known as Kushiinadahime (奇稲田姫、くしいなだひめ) or Inadahime (稲田姫、いなだひめ) among other names, is a goddess (kami) in Japanese mythology and the Shinto faith. According to these traditions, she is one of the wives of the god Susanoo, who rescued her from the monster Yamata no Orochi. As Susanoo's wife, she is a central deity of the Gion cult and worshipped at Yasaka Shrine.
Marebito
The concept of "marebito" represents a spiritual or divine being that visits from the 'other world' at specific times. This belief, rooted in the welcoming of outsiders as gods from another world, has been an important part of Japanese folklore and customs throughout history. Marebito has been observed in various forms, from gods visiting during festivals to wandering ascetics and itinerant performers being treated as divine beings.
Mikeiri no Mikoto
Mikeiri no Mikoto is a Japanese deity. He was the older brother of Jimmu. While playing a minor role in the Nihon Shoki, he has a prominent local tradition at Takachiho Shrine of which he is the main deity.
Mikogami
In Shinto, a mikogami is a term used within the context of parent-child deity cults to refer to an offspring kami. A mikogami is also referred to as a byōeishin. The parent deity of a mikogami can be either a father (hikogami) or a mother deity (himegami), with the latter fitting into the framework of cults devoted to "mother-child deities"(boshijin').
Mishaguji
Mishaguji (御左口神, 御社宮司, 御射宮司, 御社宮神; katakana: ミシャグジ), also known as Misakuji(n), Mis(h)aguchi or Mishakuji among other variants (see below), is a collective term for deities or spirits (kami) venerated in the Suwa region of Nagano Prefecture, particularly associated with the ritual practices of the Upper Shrine (Kamisha) of Suwa Taisha. These spirits once played a key role in the shrine’s winter and spring religious ceremonies and are also enshrined in numerous smaller shrines throughout the region. In these ceremonies, the Kan-no-Osa or Jinchō (神長) — also known as Jinchōkan (神長官) — a high-ranking ritual priest from the Moriya clan, would summon the Mishaguji into vessels (yorishiro), such as individuals or objects, to be temporarily inhabited during the rite.
Moreya
Moreya or Moriya is a Japanese god who appears in various myths and legends of the Suwa region in Nagano Prefecture. The most famous of such stories is that of his battle against Takeminakata, the god of the Grand Shrine of Suwa.
Mountain God
Mountain Gods are Asian tutelary deities associated with mountains. They are related to dizhu shen, tudigongs and City Gods.
Namazu
In Japanese mythology, the Namazu or Ōnamazu is a giant underground catfish who causes earthquakes.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto
Ninigi (瓊瓊杵) or Ninigi-no-Mikoto (瓊瓊杵尊), is a god in Japanese mythology. Grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, Ninigi is regarded according to Japanese mythology as the great-grandfather of Japan’s first emperor, Emperor Jimmu. The three sacred treasures brought with Ninigi from Heaven and divine ancestry established the Japanese Imperial Family.
Nunakawahime
Nunakawahime is a Shinto goddess.
Okinoshima (Fukuoka)
Okinoshima is an island off the coast of Munakata, Fukuoka, Japan. It is considered sacred land by the local Munakata Taisha. The island's population consists of a single employee of the shrine.
Ōkuninushi
Ōkuninushi, also known as Ō(a)namuchi or Ō(a)namochi among other variants, is a kami in Japanese mythology. He is one of the central deities in the myth cycle recorded in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki (720) alongside the sun goddess Amaterasu and her brother, the wild god Susanoo, who is reckoned to be either Ōkuninushi's distant ancestor or father. In these texts, he is portrayed as the head of the kunitsukami and the original ruler of the lush terrestrial world, Ashihara no Nakatsukuni (葦原中国).
Omizunu
Omizunu, also known as Yatsukamizu Omitsuno (八束水巨津野) was a Japanese deity, the great-great-grandson of Susanoo-no-Mikoto. He was illustrated as a deer with a tree sprouting from it one the Mandala of the Kasuga-taisha.
Omoikane
Omoikane is a Shinto Kami of wisdom and intelligence. His name means "having the wisdom and thoughtfulness of many people". A heavenly deity who is called upon to "ponder" and give good counsel in the deliberations of the heavenly deities.
Ōmononushi
Ōmononushi is a kami in Japanese mythology associated with Mount Miwa in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. He is closely linked in the imperial myth cycle recorded in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki with the earthly kami Ōkuninushi (Ōnamuchi); indeed, the latter text treats 'Ōmononushi' as another name for or an aspect—more precisely, the spirit or mitama—of Ōnamuchi.
Oyamakui no Kami
Ōyamakui no Kami (大山咋神) is a kami. The Kojiki says they live on Mount Hiei in Ōmi Province or Mount Matsunoo (松尾) in Yamashiro Province. He is the child of Ōtoshi no Kami (大年神) and grandson of Susanoo.
Ōyamatsumi
Ōyama-tsumi, also Ōyama-tsumi-mi'oya-no-mikoto (大山祇御祖命), is a god of mountains, sea, and war in Japanese mythology. He is an elder brother of Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo. His other names are Watashi-no-Ōkami (和多志大神) and Sakatoke (酒解神).
Paantu
The Paantu festival is an annual festival on the island of Miyako-jima in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture.
Raijin
Raijin , also known as Kaminari-sama (雷様), Raiden-sama (雷電様), Narukami (鳴る神), Raikō (雷公), and Kamowakeikazuchi-no-kami is a god of lightning, thunder, and storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto and Buddhist religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions, standing atop a cloud, beating on den-den daiko drums with tomoe symbols drawn on them. Iconography of Raijin are often found in Japanese temples and shrines.
Raijū
In Japanese mythology, the raijū is a legendary creature and yōkai associated with lightning and thunder, as well as the god Raijin. It is said to appear with lightning strikes.
Ryūjin
Ryūjin, which in some traditions is equivalent to Ōwatatsumi, was the tutelary deity of the sea in Japanese mythology. In many versions Ryūjin had the ability to transform into a human shape. Many believed the god had knowledge of medicine and many considered him as the bringer of rain and thunder, Ryūjin is also the patron god (ujigami) of several family groups.
Sakui no kami
Ikasuri Shrine is a major Shinto shrine located in central Osaka, Japan. Its annual festival is on April 22. In the former modern system of ranked Shinto shrines it was an imperial shrine of the second rank or kanpei-chūsha (官幣中社).
Sanjūbanshin
Sanjūbanshin (三十番神) refers to the thirty deities in the syncretic Japanese Shinbutsu shūgō faith who were believed to protect the nation and its people on a rotating daily basis. Each of the thirty deities guards one day of the month.
Sarutahiko Ōkami
Sarutahiko/Sarudahiko/Sarutabiko Ōkami is a deity of the Japanese religion of Shinto; he is the leader of the earthly kami. Norito also mentions him with the title Daimyōjin instead of Ōkami . Sarutahiko Ōkami was the head of the kunitsukami and in the Jinnō Shōtōki is said to have been the ancestor of Otanomikoto.
Seven Lucky Gods
In Japanese mythology, the Seven Lucky Gods or Seven Gods of Fortune are believed to grant good luck and are often represented in netsuke and in artworks. One of the seven (Jurōjin) is said to be based on a historical figure.
Shikigami
Shikigami (式神) is the term for a being from Japanese folklore. According to the Shinto scholar Inoue Nobutaka, it is thought to be some sort of kami, represented by a small ghost. The belief of shikigami originates from Onmyōdō.
Shikome
Yomotsu-shikome , in Japanese mythology, was a hag sent by the dead Izanami to pursue her husband Izanagi, for shaming her by breaking promise not to see her in her decayed form in the Underworld (Yomi-no-kuni). Also recorded by the name Yomotsu-hisame (泉津日狭女), the name may have been a term referring collectively to eight hags, not just one.
Shinatsuhiko
Shinatsuhiko is a Japanese mythological god of wind (Fūjin). Another name for this deity is Shinatobe, who may originally have been a separate goddess of wind.
Shinigami
Shinigami are kami that invite humans toward death in certain aspects of Japanese religion and culture. Shinigami have been described as monsters, helpers, and creatures of darkness. Shinigami are used for tales and religions in Japanese culture.
Shinkai (divine rank)
Shinkai is a system of ranking kami in Shinto. Higher rank meant more lands were given to the shrine and it became wealthier and more powerful.
Shinshi
Shinshi are animals in Japanese mythology that are believed to be associated with a kami, a divine being. These animals are also known as kami no tsukai or tsukawashime. In ancient texts such as Kojiki and Nihongi, there are tales of special animals that acted on behalf of the kami to transmit the divine will or to bear oracles.
Smallpox demon
Smallpox demon or smallpox devil is a demon which was believed to be responsible for causing smallpox in medieval Japan. In those days, people tried to appease the smallpox demon by assuaging his anger, or they tried to attack the demon since they had no other effective treatment for smallpox. Methods used to try to assuage or please the smallpox demon were using a sanshin, a musical instrument, "lion dances, flowers, incense, and poetry.
Sōjōbō
In Japanese folklore and mythology, Sōjōbō is the mythical king and god of the tengu, legendary creatures thought to inhabit the mountains and forests of Japan. Sōjōbō is a specific type of tengu called daitengu and has the appearance of a yamabushi, a Japanese mountain hermit. Daitengu have a primarily human form with some bird-like features such as wings and claws.
Sugawara no Michizane
Sugawara no Michizane , or Kankō , was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian period of Japan. He is regarded as an excellent poet, particularly in waka and kanshi poetry, and is today revered in Shinto as the god of learning, Tenman-Tenjin . In the famed poem anthology Hyakunin Isshu, he is known as Kanke (菅家), and in kabuki drama he is known as Kan Shōjō (菅丞相).
Suijin
Suijin or Mizugami is a general name for the god of water in Japanese mythology. The term refers to the heavenly and earthly manifestations of the benevolent Shinto divinity of water, as well as to a wide variety of mythical and magical creatures found in lakes, ponds, springs, and wells, including serpents, and the flesh-eating kappa. Mizu-no-kamisama, Mizugami, or Suijin is popularly revered and worshipped in temples and continues to influence Japanese culture.
Sukunabikona
Sukunabikona or Sukuna bikona is the Shinto kami of the onsen, agriculture, healing, magic, brewing sake and knowledge. His name means "the small lord of renown. " He is often described as being a dwarf and is frequently paired with Ōkuninushi.
Sumiyoshi sanjin
Sumiyoshi sanjin (住吉三神) is the generic name for the three kami (deities) in Japan: Sokotsutsu no O (底筒男命), Nakatsutsu no O (中筒男命), and Uwatsutsu no O (表筒男). The Sumiyoshi sanjin are regarded as the gods of the sea and sailing. They are sometimes referred to as the Sumiyoshi daijin (住吉大神).
Susanoo-no-Mikoto
Susanoo, often referred to by the honorific title Susanoo-no-Mikoto, is a kami in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory characteristics, being portrayed in various stories either as a wild, impetuous god associated with the sea and storms, as a heroic figure who killed a monstrous serpent, or as a local deity linked with the harvest and agriculture. Syncretic beliefs of the Gion cult that arose after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan also saw Susanoo becoming conflated with deities of pestilence and disease.
Ta-no-Kami
Ta-no-Kami (田の神) is a kami who is believed to observe the harvest of rice plants or to bring a good harvest, by Japanese farmers. Ta in Japanese means "rice fields". Ta-no-Kami is also called Noushin or kami of peasants.
Takamen
Takamen is a supernatural deity with a strange appearance that appears during the traditional Saku-odori or Toyomatsuri-odori festivals held from the 1st to the 2nd day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar on Takeshima Island in the Satsunan Islands of Kyushu, Japan.
Takeminakata
Takeminakata (タケミナカタ), also known as Minakatatomi or Takeminakatatomi, is a kami in Japanese mythology. Also known as Suwa Myōjin or Suwa Daimyōjin after Suwa Grand Shrine in Nagano Prefecture in which he is enshrined alongside his consort Yasakatome, Takeminakata is historically worshiped as a god of wind, water and agriculture, as well as a patron of hunting and warfare, in which capacity he enjoyed a particularly fervent cult from various samurai clans during the medieval period such as the Hōjō or the Takeda. Takeminakata was also held to be the mythical ancestor of certain families who once served at the shrine as priests, foremost among them being the Suwa clan, the high priests of the Upper Shrine of Suwa who were also revered as living vessels of the god.
Complete index
Every Japanese entry
All 136 names, alphabetically. The grid above pages; this list is the whole holding.
A26
- Aizen Myō-ō
- Ajisukitakahikone
- Akkorokamui
- Ama-no-Iwato
- Ama-Tsu-Mara
- Amamikyu
- Amano-Iwato
- Amanozako
- Amaterasu
- Amaterasu Ōmikami
- Amatsu-Mikaboshi
- Amatsukami
- Ame-no-Fuyukinu
- Ame-no-Koyane
- Ame-no-Minakanushi
- Ame-no-Nuboko
- Ame-no-ohabari
- Ame-no-oshihomimi
- Ame-no-Tajikarao
- Ame-no-Uzume
- Amenohoakari
- Amitabha
- Arahitogami
- Asuha-no-kami
- Atago Gongen
- Azumi-no-isora