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Kami are Shinto sacred spirits that are the objects to pray to for blessings and grace and to worship for their spirituality. The kami can take various forms including: the forms of natural elements like trees, rocks, mountains, the wind, and the sun; the forms of national heroes and protectors of family clans; or abstract things like fertility. Kami are the only things that have great influence on daily life. The kami of natural phenomena are worshiped: kami of the seas, kami of the rivers, kami of the thunders, kami of the rains, kami of the mountains. It is important to perform rites for kami since although they usually guard and bless people they can also get angry and bring misfortunes upon them. The kami are neither omnipotent nor omniscient. In Shinto mythology, the kamiah that gave birth to the land of Japan failed at first and had to ask for help from other kami in heaven who told them to search for the answers through the practice of divination. There are no absolutes or perfect kami. The people worship the divine spirits, Shinrei, because they have great influence in their lives, and they are in awe of the Magatsuhi Kami who bring evil into the daily living.
Some of the most widely
recognized of the Shinto gods and goddesses were Amaterasu, Benten, Daikokuten,
Ebisu, Futotama, Hachiman, Inari, Inazuma, Izanagi, Izanami, Okuninushi, Sengen,
Susanowa, Tenjin, and Toyouke.
Many of these ancient Japanese Shinto kami goddesses and gods are living myths today. Amaterasu (Ama Terasu, Omikami, Shinmei, Ten-sho-Ko-Daijan, O-Hiru-Me-No-Muchi), was a highly revered Japanese Shinto sun goddess. The daughter of the Creator god Izanagi and goddess Izanami, Amaterasu was known as "She Who Shines in the Heavens", "Illustrious Goddess" and "Ruler of the Plain of Heaven", and the Japanese Imperial family was descended from her. Written about in the Kojiki and Nihongi Japanese Sacred Texts, she has been revered since at least 600 ACE. The principal Kami of Shintoism, Amaterasu has been depicted in artistic paintings and sculptures. Honored at every family shrine, her primary Sacred Site is the Ise Naiku Shrine, where the body of Amaterasu is represented by a mirror.
Located at Ise-Jingue on Ise
on the island of Honshu, the Naiku Shrine is pulled down every twenty years and
then rebuilt in its original form. The tutelary goddess of the
Emperor, Amaterasu created rice fields called "inada" where she cultivated rice. She also taught the people
how to cultivate wheat and silkworms, as well as, how to weave with a loom... Continue on
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