Category: Japanese Mythology

The merciful Buddha of the Pure Land. The conceptualizations of Amida have always been very vague in Japanese myth. Like many other Buddhas and bodhisattvas,…

The second of the deities dispatched by the heavenly deities to subdue the Central Land of the Reed Plains. He was armed with the heavenly…

The kami who enticed Amaterasu-π-mikami from her cave by dancing a lewd dance. Ama-no-uzume is one of the most active deities in Shintπ mythology. One…

The Japanese word for the upper dwelling place of the gods, or heaven. In the Shinto myths, some deities live in heaven and others dwell…

One of the Shinto gods of thunder. Just as parents may carry a crying child up and down a hallway to soothe him or her,…

The Shinto god who created Mount Mo-Yama. He had a quick temper. He carried a sword that was as long as a span of ten…

Popular legends tell of Ajari Joan being a Buddhist priest on Hakkotsu-San, or Skeleton Mountain. While there, he fell in love with a girl, a…

The popular Buddhist Japanese god of love. This love can be physical love, such as desire for another person. But in Buddhist theology, Aizen-Myo-o represents…

Hidetake is the hero of a popular folktale involving Dosojin, the Shinto god of travellers. The tale is recorded on a famous emaki (scroll) entitled…

Yamabushi : A holy person or hermit who dwells in the mountains and has special powers. In some Japanese legends they associate with tengu, spirits…