What Are Kami?

The Shinto religion worships Kami otherwise known as gods or sacred spirits. These spirits assume the forms of things found in nature like rivers, trees, mountains and rocks or in natural forces like wind, thunder, rain or fertility. Often you will see ancient trees or enormous rocks encircled with a special rope collar with folded paper hangings - this denotes that it has a kami and is sacred.

When human beings die, they become Kami and are venerated by their families who have small shrines in their homes to remember their ancestors.

The Shinto religion believes there are 8,000,000 Kami, a number which means infinity in Japanese culture.

The most important Kami is Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun and the universe where all the Kami come from. According to traditional Japanese folklore, the Emperors of Japan are descended from Amaterasu.