Folklore: Japanese mythology

So today we're not really talking about as much like of stories of Japanese mythology and more looking at one of the important concepts behind Shinto, which is kami.

And sometimes this gets translated as gods are spirits, but neither of those translations is true.

is quite correct.

They're not wrong, but they don't encompass the whole meaning of kami.

So today we're going to talk about what they actually are, where we encounter them, and how people honor them through Shinto rituals and shrines.

So let's start with the obvious question.

What is kami? Like I said, there's no English word that perfectly translates.

It can refer to divine or sacred beings, but a lot of us hear the word God, especially from a Western religious background, and we're thinking of like a supernatural being with a distinct personality, a particular domain, and like a clearly defined hierarchy.

Kami doesn't, don't necessarily work that way.

A kami can be associated with a natural feature, like a mountain, river, waterfall, ancient tree.

It can be connected to ancestors.

They can be associated with particular places.

So in my head, they are the most similar to like nature spirits, kind of.

Or maybe sprites.

I don't know.

In any event, sometimes even like people who have lived extraordinary lives or made significant contributions to society can be venerated after death as kami.

So they're not really Japanese gods.

They're like sacred presences.

Something that possesses extraordinary or spiritually significant quality.

So imagine you're standing at the base of a big mountain and you're looking up at something that has existed long before you were born and will exist most likely long after you're gone or standing beside a waterfall or under a waterfall.

I mean, I feel like a lot of us have done that as well.

Maybe not.

Maybe that's a unique experience.

I don't know.

I've stood under a waterfall before.