Category Mythology & Gods

The Japanese god of death is Enma Daio, judge of the Buddhist underworld, and the god of war is Hachiman, kami of warriors, archery and the samurai.

Kagutsuchi is the Japanese god of fire and volcanoes, the kami whose birth killed Izanami. His myth, his shrines, and why Japan still honors him.

God in Japanese is kami, written 神 and read shin or jin in compounds. Here is what kami means, how it differs from God, and when to say kamisama.

Amaterasu means shining in heaven, written 天照 from ama (heaven) and terasu (shine). Her fuller names, Amaterasu Omikami and Ohirume no Muchi, each frame her differently.

Susanoo no Mikoto is Japan's god of storms and the sea. His birth, his exile from heaven, the eight-forked serpent he killed, and where he is worshipped.

A map of the Japanese pantheon: what a kami is, how the deities are ranked, the major gods by domain, the Seven Lucky Gods, Buddhist crossovers, and people enshrined as kami.

Tsukuyomi is Japan's moon god, born from Izanagi's right eye and estranged from Amaterasu. Here is his myth, his name, his shrines and his modern uses.

Raijin is Japan's god of thunder and lightning. His birth in Yomi, the ring of drums that makes thunder, his family, his myths, and where he is worshipped.

Izanami is the Shinto goddess who created Japan with Izanagi, died giving birth to the fire god, and became a ruler of Yomi, the land of the dead.

Izanagi is the Shinto creator god who drew Japan from the sea with Izanami, escaped the land of the dead, and fathered Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo.