Home›Japanese Deities›Theology›Animist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsBrowse ByAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsThis page groups deities by the theological framework used to describe their nature, since traditions disagree about whether a god is a distinct being, an aspect of a single divine reality, or something else again. Wikipedia describes theology as "the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity and the history behind religion." Browsing this way lets a visitor compare how differently two traditions can explain what a deity actually is.FactsLearn MoreAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe kami of Shinto together with the buddhas and bodhisattvas long worshipped alongside them. Kami are not a fixed pantheon: the word covers sacred powers in nature, places, ancestors and exceptional people, held to be innumerable, and the named great kami of the eighth-century chronicles are a small and deliberately organised part of what is venerated at shrines. 2AttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedThe named kami first appear as an ordered corpus in the Kojiki of 712 and the Nihon Shoki of 720, compiled to serve the claims of the imperial court. Shrine worship continues today. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedVenerated today at shrines throughout Japan and in the Japanese diaspora. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1OriginsOrigin of the NameWell-attestedKami is the tradition's own word and is not a translation of god. It names a quality of awe-commanding power that may belong to a deity, a place, a natural force, an ancestor or a living person, and it takes no plural. 2Learn MoreThe kami of Japan This group holds the deities of Shinto, the indigenous tradition of Japan, together with figures shared with Japanese Buddhism. The Shinto divine is the kami (sacred powers present in nature, ancestors, places and exceptional beings), understood as innumerable rather than as a fixed pantheon. The browser will find the great kami of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki: the sun-goddess Amaterasu, from whom the imperial line is traced; her brother the storm-god Susanoo; the moon-god Tsukuyomi; the creator pair Izanagi and Izanami; and popular figures such as Inari and the Seven Lucky Gods. The entries note the long entanglement of Shinto and Buddhist worship in Japanese history.Animist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsFilter Results10 entriesPlanetary FaceAllChiron (1)Mars (1)Mercury (1)Moon (1)Saturn (1)Child OfAllIzanagi (1)Interpretatio OfAllMercury (1)Saturn (1)HistoricityAllHistorically attested (1)Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical record (1)Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being (8)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (2)The Hero (1)The Magician (1)The Orphan (1)Veneration StatusAllActively venerated in a living tradition (10)Era Attested Start YearAll711 (1)712 (5)720 (1)947 (1)Worshipped InAllBuddhism (1)Shinto (10)Domain / FunctionAllAgriculture and harvest (2)Childbirth (1)Commerce and wealth (1)Craft, metalwork and smithing (1)Dance and theatre (1)Earth (1)Healing and medicine (1)Moon (1)Mountains (1)Night and darkness (1)Primordial being (1)Protection and guardianship (2)Spring and renewal (1)Travel, roads and boundaries (1)Tutelary of a place or community (1)War and battle (1)Wisdom and counsel (2)Writing, scribes and learning (1)GenderAllBeyond gender (1)Female (2)Gender-fluid across the tradition (1)Male (6)PantheonAllJapanese (10)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 10Ame-no-UzumeAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsHachimanAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsInariAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsKonohanasakuya-himeAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsKuninotokotachiAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsOmoikaneAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsSarutahikoAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsSukunabikonaAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsTenjinAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsTsukuyomiAnimist: persons and powers in land, water and living thingsSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Shinto: A Historytier 1Helen Hardacre, Oxford University Press, 2017ch. 1View the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.