Home›Japanese Deities›Theology›Polytheistic: many godsBrowse ByPolytheistic: many godsThis 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 MorePolytheistic: many godsSourcesComments (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.Polytheistic: many godsFilter Results19 entriesPlanetary FaceAllJupiter (1)Neptune (1)Pluto (1)Sun (1)Venus (1)Child OfAllIzanagi (1)Ninigi (1)Watatsumi (1)Interpretatio OfAllJupiter (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 (17)ArchetypeAllThe Innocent (1)The Lover (1)The Magician (1)The Ruler (1)The Sage (1)Veneration StatusAllActively venerated in a living tradition (16)Historically attested; no continuous cult (3)Era Attested Start YearAll701 (1)712 (9)Worshipped InAllBuddhism (1)Shinto (14)Domain / FunctionAllAgriculture and harvest (3)Chaos and adversary (1)Childbirth (1)Commerce and wealth (1)Creation and cosmogony (3)Death (1)Fire (1)Kingship and sovereignty (2)Mountains (2)Music and poetry (1)Primordial being (1)Protection and guardianship (4)Purification (1)Rivers, lakes and springs (1)Sea and ocean (3)Storm and thunder (1)Sun (1)The hunt (1)The underworld (1)Wisdom and counsel (1)GenderAllAndrogynous / dual-gendered (1)Beyond gender (1)Female (7)Male (10)PantheonAllBuddhist (1)Japanese (15)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 19AmaterasuPolytheistic: many godsAme-no-MinakanushiPolytheistic: many godsBenzaitenPolytheistic: many godsHooriPolytheistic: many godsIzanagiPolytheistic: many godsIzanamiPolytheistic: many godsKagu-tsuchiPolytheistic: many godsKunadoPolytheistic: many godsNinigiPolytheistic: many godsOyamakui no KamiPolytheistic: many godsSusanooPolytheistic: many godsTaira no MasakadoPolytheistic: many godsToyotama-himePolytheistic: many godsToyouke OmikamiPolytheistic: many godsUgajinPolytheistic: many godsUke MochiPolytheistic: many godsWatatsumiPolytheistic: many godsYachimata-hikoPolytheistic: many godsYachimata-himePolytheistic: many godsSources1. 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.