The story of Japanese
Japanese myth is recorded most fully in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, eighth-century chronicles commissioned by the imperial court to legitimize the Yamato dynasty. These texts describe the creation of the islands by the primordial deities Izanagi and Izanami, the sun goddess Amaterasu’s withdrawal into a cave and her eventual lure back into the world, and the descent of her grandson Ninigi to rule Japan. The imperial family claimed direct descent from Amaterasu, making mythology a charter for political authority.
Kami are not simply gods in a Western sense. They inhabit mountains, rivers, trees, rocks, thunder, wind, and notable ancestors or culture heroes. Major kami include Amaterasu, Susanoo the storm god, Tsukuyomi the moon deity, Inari the rice and fertility deity, Hachiman the god of war and archery, and Tenjin the deified scholar Sugawara no Michizane. Local shrines, each with its own tutelary kami, form the basic institutional unit of Shinto practice.
Ritual purity is central to Japanese religion. Misogi (water purification), abstention from pollution, and the renewal of shrine buildings (shikinen sengu) at Ise reflect a concern with cleanliness, renewal, and the cyclical nature of time. Matsuri, or festivals, reinvigorate the bond between a community and its kami through procession, music, dance, and offerings.
The tradition evolved through Buddhism’s arrival in the sixth century and the subsequent synthesis known as shinbutsu-shugo, in which kami were interpreted as local manifestations of Buddhist bodhisattvas. The Meiji government forcibly separated the two in the nineteenth century, promoting State Shinto until 1945. Today Shinto remains a vital part of Japanese life, especially at births, coming-of-age ceremonies, weddings, and New Year observances.
Themes
Featured temples
7 restored names to explore.
Ōsaka
Japanese characters大阪
Merchant City, Kansai
ōsaka.com → xn--saka-k3a.com
Tier 1
Kyōto
Japanese characters京都
Imperial Capital, Kansai
kyōto.com → xn--kyto-m3a.com
Tier 1
Kōbe
Japanese characters神戸
Port City, Hyōgo
kōbe.com → xn--kbe-qxa.com
Tier 1
Nikkō
Japanese characters日光
Sacred Site, Tochigi
nikkō.com → xn--nikk-o3a.com
Tier 1
Hokkaidō
Japanese characters北海道
North, Snow, Frontier
hokkaidō.com → xn--hokkaid-cmb.com
Tier 1
Shikoku
Japanese characters四国
Smallest Main Island
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Tier 2
Nagoya
Japanese characters名古屋
Industrial Hub, Chūbu
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Tier 2Sacred texts
Primary sources behind the Japanese pantheon.
Kojiki
The Record of Ancient Matters — Japan’s oldest book: the birth of the islands, the age of the kami, and the descent of the imperial line. The foundation text of the Japanese pantheon.
Nihon Shoki
The Chronicles of Japan — thirty books from the age of the gods to the seventh-century court, the sister chronicle to the Kojiki with its alternate tellings of the same creation.
Browse all Japanese temples
42 restored flagship temples.
Amaterasu
Japanese characters天照
Sun Goddess, Shintō
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Tier 2
Amida
Japanese characters阿弥陀
Infinite Light, Pure Land
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Tier 2
Benzaiten
Japanese characters弁財天
Music, Wealth, Eloquence
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Tier 2
Ebisu
Japanese characters恵比寿
Fishermen, Commerce, Luck
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Tier 2
Fuji
Japanese characters富士
Sacred Mountain
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Tier 2
Fūjin
Japanese characters風神
Wind
fūjin.com → xn--fjin-v7a.com
Tier 1
Goshin
Japanese characters五神
Five Deities, Protection
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Tier 2
Hachiman
Japanese characters八幡
War, Archery, Protection
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Tier 2
Hoderi
Japanese characters火照命
Fire, Fisherman
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Tier 2
Hokkaidō
Japanese characters北海道
North, Snow, Frontier
hokkaidō.com → xn--hokkaid-cmb.com
Tier 1
Honshū
Japanese characters本州
Center, Mainland, Heart
honshū.com → xn--honsh-pfb.com
Tier 1
Hoori
Japanese characters火折命
Agriculture, Hunter
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Tier 2
Inari
Japanese characters稲荷
Rice, Fertility, Foxes
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Tier 2
Ise
Japanese characters伊勢
Sacred Shrine
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Tier 2
Izanagi
Japanese characters伊邪那岐
Creator God, Shintō
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Tier 2
Izanami
Japanese characters伊邪那美
Creation, Death, Earth
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Tier 2
Jizō
Japanese Kanji (Jinmeiyō)地蔵
Protection of Children, Travelers
jizō.com → xn--jiz-sxa.com
Tier 1
Kagutsuchi
Japanese characters迦具土
Fire, Volcanoes
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Tier 2
Kannon
Japanese characters観音
Compassion, Mercy
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Tier 2
Kōbe
Japanese characters神戸
Port City, Hyōgo
kōbe.com → xn--kbe-qxa.com
Tier 1
Kotoshironushi
Japanese characters事代主神
Oracles, Fishing
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Tier 2
Kumano
Japanese characters熊野
Sacred Region, Three Shrines
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Tier 2
Kyōto
Japanese characters京都
Imperial Capital, Kansai
kyōto.com → xn--kyto-m3a.com
Tier 1
Kyūshū
Japanese characters九州
South, Volcanoes, Origins
kyūshū.com → xn--kysh-w7ac.com
Tier 1
Marishiten
Japanese characters摩利支天
War, Invisibility, Sun
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Tier 2
Nagoya
Japanese characters名古屋
Industrial Hub, Chūbu
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Tier 2
Nikkō
Japanese characters日光
Sacred Site, Tochigi
nikkō.com → xn--nikk-o3a.com
Tier 1
Ninigi
Japanese characters邇邇芸命
Rice, Descendant of Amaterasu
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Tier 2
Nishinakahime
Japanese characters日子波邇夜須毘売命
Rice, Agriculture
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Tier 2
Ōkuninushi
Japanese characters大国主
Nation-building, Marriage
ōkuninushi.com → xn--kuninushi-uxb.com
Tier 1
Omononushi
Japanese characters大物忌神
Mountains, Deity of Miwa
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Tier 2
Ōsaka
Japanese characters大阪
Merchant City, Kansai
ōsaka.com → xn--saka-k3a.com
Tier 1
Raijin
Japanese characters雷神
Thunder, Lightning
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Tier 2
Sarutahiko
Japanese characters猿田彦
Crossroads, Guidance
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Tier 2
Shikoku
Japanese characters四国
Smallest Main Island
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Tier 2
Sukunahikona
Japanese characters少彦名神
Healing, Sake, Smallpox
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Tier 2
Susanō
Japanese characters須佐之男命
Storms, Sea, Chaos
susanō.com → xn--susan-k9a.com
Tier 1
Tajikarao
Japanese characters手力男神
Strength, Caves
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Tier 2
Takachiho
Japanese characters高千穂
Sacred Gorge, Descent of Gods
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Tier 2
Toyotama
Japanese characters豊玉毘売命
Sea, Mother of Jimmu
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Tier 2
Tsukuyomi
Japanese characters月読
Moon God, Shintō
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Tier 2
Ugayafukiaezu
Japanese characters鵜草葺不合命
Ancestor of Jimmu
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Tier 2