Who Are The Well-Known Gods And Goddesses In Japan?
JAPANESE DEITIES – In this lesson, we will now learn about the well-known Japanese deities or the gods and goddesses in Japan.
Like many civilizations such as ancient Greece, Egypts and more, Japan hes its own roster of deities in ancient times until now since almost half of their people are into Shintoism and Buddhism.
According to Japan Talk, these are referred to as Kami, which means spirits, gods, and deities of the Shinto religion. These can either be good or bad.
Here are the following known deities:
- Jizo
- The guardian of children and childbirth. The people believed that children who die early before their parents cannot cross the Sanzu River, which is why this deity hid them in his robe to aid them to cress the river into the afterlife.
- Raijin and Fujin
- Raijin is the deity of lightning, thunder and storms who wields a hammer and is surrounded by drums.
- Fujin, on the other handm is the wind deity who holds a bag of wind
- Both are feared and are associated with typhoons and storms that wreaked havoc into the country.
- Agyo and Ungyo
- Buddhist guardian deities that are at the entrance of the Buddhist temples in Japan
- Agyo symbolizes violence, with his teeth shown and usually holds a weapon or has his fist clenched.
- Ungyo symbolizes strength, with his mouth closed and his hand open as a sign of confidence.
- Inari
- A deity of rice, tea, fertility, sake (wine), and earthly success. Foxes servers as her messengers which in Japan, these are respected.
- Amaterasu
- The deity of the sun and the universe and one of the most important Shinto deity. It is said that the Emperor is a direct descendant of the sun deity.
- Izanagi and Izanami
- The Shinto deity of creation. The Japanese are said to originated from these two.
READ ALSO: OLYMPIAN GODS – The Twelve Greek Gods In Mount Olympus
