Okuninushi
Okuninushi Great Lord of the Country; Great Land Master; Prince of Plenty; The Great Landlord; The Celestial Matchmaker ALSO KNOWN AS: Onamuchi; Okuni Nushi; O-Kuni-Nushi;…
Konohana Sakkuya Hime
Konohana Sakkuya Hime ALSO KNOWN AS: Konohanasakuya; Sengensama ORIGIN: Japan CLASSIFICATION: Kami Konohana Sakkuya Hime is the presiding spirit of Japan’s Mount Fuji and the…
Kanayago
Kanayago The Iron Worker’s Child ORIGIN: Japan CLASSIFICATION: Kami Kanayago, a celestial kami, stepped off the moon tree intending to deliver a treatise, “A Secret…
Kami
Kami are the indigenous spirits of Japan and the basis of the Shinto religion. The word kami encompasses a very wide variety of spirit beings…
Koyasu
Koyasu ALSO KNOWN AS: Koyasu-sama; Koyasu-gami: Koyasu Kannon ORIGIN: Japan CLASSIFICATION: Kami; Bosatsu Koyasu protects children and facilitates safe, easy, successful childbirth. Koyasu-sama is another…
Izanami
Izanami August Female; The Female Who Is Invited ALSO KNOWN AS: Izanami-no-mikoto ORIGIN: Japan According to the creation saga told in the Japanese epics, the…
Izanagi
Izanagi August Male; The Male Who Invites ORIGIN: Japan Izanagi and Izanami, the celestial pair, formed the universe. (See Izanami for details.) After Izanami’s death…
Inari
Inari, spirit of abundance, fertility, growth, and rice, may be Japan’s most popular kami. Over one-third of all Shinto shrines are dedicated to Inari, and…
Ibeji
The Yoruba people who live in what is now modern Nigeria have the highest rate of multiple births on Earth. The Ibeji are the sacred…
Hyotoko
Hyotoko : The Fire Man; The Whistler Hyotoko is the name of a spirit and the mask used to represent him. The very recognizable mask…