Pabelonia Joyce C.

Gas 11-B

Enumerate 10 famous kami's being workshipped in Japan.

1.)Izanami and Izanagi

- Izanami and Izanagi are central to the Shinto creation myth. Legend has it that this god and
goddess stirred the seas with a spear, and the mud which dripped from the tip became the first
island of Japan. The other islands were just some of the couple’s hundreds of offspring, most of
which would become the various kami recognized by the Shinto belief system.
2.)Inari
-Inari is the Shinto god of industry, prosperity, finance, and agriculture. With over 40,000
shrines, or one-third of the total number of shrines in Japan, devoted to Inari, it’s safe to say that
this kami is one of the most important and respected of all the Shinto deities. It’s believed that
Inari was fond of foxes and used them as messengers. As a result, it’s common to see fox
statues around shrines devoted to Inari-okami. The Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to
this god.
3.)Hachiman
-is the god of war and military arts, helping to guide warriors on their way to mastery. The
belief is that he is also the protector of Japan, as legend has it that it was Hachiman who sent
the kamikaze or divine wind that destroyed the Mongol fleets of Kublai Khan in the 13th century,
saving the country from invasion. Hachiman has about 25,000 shrines dedicated to him
throughout Japan.
4.)Tenjin
-is the kami of education, literature, and scholarship. Interestingly, he was once an ordinary
human named Sugawara no Michizane, a scholar and a poet who lived during the 8th century.
Michizane was a high-ranking member of the Heian Court but made enemies of the Fujiwara
Clan, and they eventually succeeded in having him exiled from court. When several of
Michizane’s enemies and rivals began to die one by one in the years after his death, rumors
began to swirl that it was the disgraced scholar acting from beyond the grave. Michizane was
eventually enshrined and deified in an effort to appease his restless spirit and was given the
name Tenjin (god of the sky) to mark the transition. Students hoping for a helping hand on
exams often visit Tenjin’s shrines.
5.)Raijin
- is the kami of thunder and lightning, and Fujin is the kami of wind. Together, they are the
gods of storms and weather. They can often be found guarding the entrances to shrines, and
worshippers must pass by their watchful gaze before entering. Raijin’s three fingers on each
hand represent the past, present, and future, while Fujin’s four fingers represent the four
cardinal directions.
6.)Benzaiten
-is a Shinto kami borrowed from Buddhist belief and one of the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan.
She is based on the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Benzaiten is the goddess of things that flow,
including music, water, knowledge, and emotion—especially love. As a result, her shrines
become popular places for couples to visit, and her three Enoshima shrines are filled with
couples ringing the love bells for good luck or hanging pink ema (wishing plaques) together.
7.)Jizo
- is known as Ksitigarbha (from Sanskrit), and he is a Bodhisattva—a practitioner of
Buddhism who has deferred their own enlightenment to help others along the path. As a
guardian of travelers, small statues of Jizo can be found alongside roads or at temples. Jizo is
also a notable guardian of children, particularly those who have died before their parents. It’s
believed that such children cannot cross the Sanzu River (think the River Styx) on their way to
the afterlife, and so Jizo hides them in his robes and crosses, to save them from an eternity of
piling rocks along the riverbank. Jizo statues are sometimes adorned with small toys, bonnets
and bibs, put there by grieving parents as an offering for his protection in their passing. As a
guardian of the deceased, Jizo statues are also common in graveyards.
8.)Anyo & Ungyo
-This pair of Buddhist deities are known as Nio, benevolent guardians who stand watch at
the entrance of temples, which are often referred to as nio-mon (literally “Nio Gate”).They
represent the cycle of birth and death. Agyo is typically depicted bare-handed or wielding a
massive club, his mouth open to form the sound “ah,” which represents birth. Ungyo is also
often depicted bare-handed, or else holding a large sword. His mouth is closed to form the
sound “om,” which represents death. Although they can be found at temples throughout the
country, perhaps the most famous depiction of Agyo and Ungyo is at the entrance to Todaiji
Temple, in Nara Prefecture.
9.)Kannon
- is another Bodhisattva, one who presides with Amida Buddha in the Pure Land, which is
often depicted as a mountainous island paradise. She is the goddess of mercy and compassion,
and has several distinct depictions, including that of Senju Kannon—or the 1,000-armed
Kannon—as well Juichimen Kannon, who has 11 faces. It is also said that when Christianity
was outlawed during the Edo Period (1603 – 1868), some practitioners used the depiction of
Kannon holding a child as a substitute for the Virgin Mary and Jesus in order to secretly
continue to practice their faith in public. There are many pilgrimages dedicated to Kannon, such
as the Saigoku Pilgrimage, which involves practitioners visiting 33 Buddhist temples throughout
the Kansai area.
10.)Ebisu
-sometimes referred to as Yebisu, is the patron deity of fishermen and tradesmen, and
another of Japan’s “Seven Gods of Fortune.” He is often depicted as a plump, happy fisherman
who carries a fishing rod in one hand and a red snapper in the other. The snapper also
symbolizes fortune, as its name in Japanese, tai, is phonetically similar to the word for an
auspicious or celebratory occasion, omedetai. Some legends identify Ebisu’s origin as that of
the first god birthed by Izanagi and Izanami, the misconceived Hiruko, who was malformed and
cast into the sea. Others say he was the son of the hero deity Okuninushi, the “Great Land
Master.”

He is commonly sighted on cans of the beloved Japanese beer, Yebisu.