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This is a list of divinities native to Japanese beliefs and religious traditions. Many of these are from Shinto, while others were imported via Buddhism or Taoism and were "integrated" into Japanese mythology and folklore.
![The Amaterasu-Omikami emerges from the Heavenly Rock Cave Shunsai Toshimasa [ja] (Chun Zhai Nian Chang
) Origin of the Cave Door Dance (Amaterasu) by Shunsai Toshimasa 1889.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Origin_of_the_Cave_Door_Dance_%28Amaterasu%29_by_Shunsai_Toshimasa_1889.jpg/220px-Origin_of_the_Cave_Door_Dance_%28Amaterasu%29_by_Shunsai_Toshimasa_1889.jpg)
This section includes historical people worshipped as kami.
All Emperors and Empresses of Japan are technically worshipped because of their descent from Amaterasu Ōmikami, but there are many esteemed and highly revered ones who are not enshrined.
The Seven Lucky Gods (七福神, Shichi Fukujin) are:
The goddess Kichijōten (吉祥天), also known as Kisshoutennyo, is sometimes considered to be one of the seven gods, [41] replacing either Jurōjin or Fukurokuju. [42] She embodies happiness, fertility and beauty. Daikoku sometimes manifests as a female known as Daikokunyo (大黒女) or Daikokutennyo (大黒天女). [43] When Kisshoutennyo is counted among the seven Fukujin [42] and Daikoku is regarded in feminine form, [43] all three of the Hindu Tridevi goddesses are represented in the Fukujin.
In Shinto, Kotoamatsukami is the collective name for the first gods which came into existence at the time of the creation of the universe. They were born in Takamagahara, the world of Heaven at the time of the creation. Unlike the later gods, these deities were born without any procreation.
Amaterasu Ōmikami, often called Amaterasu for short, also known as Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (大日孁貴神), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (kami) of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, as the ruler of the heavenly realm Takamagahara and the mythical ancestress of the Imperial House of Japan via her grandson Ninigi. Along with her siblings, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the impetuous storm god Susanoo, she is considered to be one of the "Three Precious Children", the three most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi.
Susanoo, often referred to by the honorific title Susanoo-no-Mikoto, is a kami in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory characteristics, being portrayed in various stories either as a wild, impetuous god associated with the sea and storms, as a heroic figure who killed a monstrous serpent, or as a local deity linked with the harvest and agriculture. Syncretic beliefs of the Gion cult that arose after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan also saw Susanoo becoming conflated with deities of pestilence and disease.
In Japanese religion, Yahata formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements from both Shinto and Buddhism.
The Kojiki, also sometimes read as Furukotofumi or Furukotobumi, is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the kami (神), and the Japanese imperial line. It is claimed in its preface to have been composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Genmei in the early 8th century (711–712), and thus is usually considered to be the oldest extant literary work in Japan.
Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of years of contact with Chinese and various Indian myths are also key influences in Japanese religious belief.
Izanami (イザナミ), formally referred to with the honorific Izanami-no-Mikoto, is the creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother-husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the formation of heaven and earth. Izanami and Izanagi are held to be the creators of the Japanese archipelago and the progenitors of many deities, which include the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the storm god Susanoo. In mythology, she is the direct ancestor of the Japanese imperial family.
Ōyama-tsumi or Ohoyama-tsumi, also Ōyama-tsumi-mi'oya-no-mikoto (大山祇御祖命), is a god of mountains, sea, and war in Japanese mythology. He is an elder brother of Amaterasu and Susanoo. His other names are Watashi-no-Ōkami (和多志大神) and Sakatoke (酒解神).
Ame-no-Koyane-no-mikoto is a kami and a male deity in Japanese mythology and Shinto. He is the ancestral god of the Nakatomi clan, and Fujiwara no Kamatari, the founder of the powerful Fujiwara clan. An Amatsukami, 'Kami of heaven', he resides in Takamagahara.
Ninigi-no-Mikoto is a deity in Japanese mythology. Grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, Ninigi is regarded according to Japanese mythology as the great-grandfather of Japan’s first emperor, Emperor Jimmu. The three sacred treasures brought with Ninigi from Heaven and divine ancestry established the Japanese Imperial Family.
Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto (鵜葺草葺不合命) is a Shinto kami, and is in Japanese mythology, the father of Japan's first Emperor, Emperor Jimmu.
Futsunushi, also known as Iwainushi, is a warrior god in Japanese mythology. Also known under the epithet Katori Daimyōjin (香取大明神) after his shrine in northern Chiba Prefecture, Katori Jingū, he is often revered alongside Takemikazuchi, with whom he is closely associated. He is regarded as a legendary ancestor of the Mononobe clan, and like Takemikazuchi is one of the tutelary deities of the Fujiwara clan.
Toyouke-hime is the goddess of agriculture, industry, food, clothing, and houses in the Shinto religion. Originally enshrined in the Tanba region of Japan, she was called to reside at Gekū, Ise Shrine, about 1,500 years ago at the age of Emperor Yūryaku to offer sacred food to Amaterasu Ōmikami, the Sun Goddess.
Watatsumi, also pronounced Wadatsumi, is a legendary kami, Japanese dragon and tutelary water deity in Japanese mythology. Ōwatatsumi no kami is believed to be another name for the sea deity Ryūjin and also for the Watatsumi Sanjin, which rule the upper, middle and lower seas respectively and were created when Izanagi was washing himself of the dragons blood when he returned from Yomi, "the underworld".
Ame-no-Minakanushi is a deity (kami) in Japanese mythology, portrayed in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki as the very first or one of the first deities who manifested when heaven and earth came into existence.
Tamayori-hime is a goddess in Japanese mythology. Her name is spelled as 玉依毘売命 in the Kojiki and 玉依姫 in the Nihon Shoki.
The kuni-yuzuri (国譲り) "Transfer of the land" was a mythological event in Japanese prehistory, related in sources such as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. It relates the story of how the rulership of Japan passed from the earthly kami (kunitsukami) to the kami of Heaven (amatsukami) and their eventual descendants, the Imperial House of Japan.
Takamimusubi is a god of agriculture in Japanese mythology, who was the second of the first beings to come into existence.
Hosuseri (火須勢理命) is a god that appears in Japanese mythology. Second child of Ninigi-no-Mikoto and Konohanasakuya-hime. He is considered to be the great-uncle of Emperor Jimmu.
Kamotaketsunumi no Mikoto (三嶋溝抗命) is a god in Japanese mythology.
Media related to Japanese deities at Wikimedia Commons
| Mythic texts |   | |
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| Japanese creation myth | ||
| Takamagahara mythology | ||
| Izumo mythology | ||
| Hyūga mythology | ||
| Human age | ||
| Mythological locations | ||
| Mythological weapons | ||
| Major Buddhist figures | ||
| Seven Lucky Gods | ||
| Legendary creatures | ||
| Other | ||
