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Concept
Kami
Summary
are the deities, divinities, spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena, or holy powers that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, beings and the qualities that these beings express, and/or the spirits of venerated dead people. Many kami are considered the ancient ancestors of entire clans (some ancestors became kami upon their death if they were able to embody the values and virtues of kami in life). Traditionally, great leaders like the Emperor could be or became kami.
In Shinto, kami are not separate from nature, but are of nature, possessing positive and negative, and good and evil characteristics. They are manifestations of musubi, the interconnecting energy of the universe, and are considered exemplary of what humanity should strive towards. Kami are believed to be "hidden" from this world, and inhabit a complementary existence that mirrors our own: 神界. To be in harmony with the awe-inspiring aspects of nature is to be conscious of 随神の道 or 惟神の道.
Kami is the Japanese word for a deity, divinity, or spirit. It has been used to describe mind, God, supreme being, one of the Shinto deities, an effigy, a principle, and anything that is worshipped.
Although deity is the common interpretation of kami, some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term.
Some etymological suggestions are:
Kami may, at its root, simply mean spirit, or an aspect of spirituality. It is written with the kanji 神, Sino-Japanese reading shin or jin. In Chinese, the character means deity.
In the Ainu language, the word kamuy refers to an animistic concept very similar to Japanese kami. The matter of the words' origins is still a subject of debate; but it is generally suggested that the word kami was derived from Ainu word kamuy.
In his Kojiki-den, Motoori Norinaga gave a definition of kami: "...any being whatsoever which possesses some eminent quality out of the ordinary, and is awe-inspiring, is called kami.
Official source
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