The kami are the deities and sacred spirits at the heart of Shinto. The pantheon's creator generation is the primordial couple Izanagi and Izanami, who formed the islands of Japan and gave birth to countless gods of nature before death divided them.
From Izanagi's purification descend the great celestial kami: the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon god Tsukuyomi, and the storm god Susanoo, whose domain overlaps that of the thunder kami Raijin. Together they govern the forces of heaven and the changing seasons.
Shinto cosmology, as recorded in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, arranges the world into three linked realms: Takamagahara, the High Plain of Heaven where Amaterasu rules; Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, the "Central Land of Reed Plains" — the human world, formed from Izanagi and Izanami's islands; and Yomi, the shadowy underworld Izanami came to rule after her death. Kami are not confined to a single distant heaven the way gods are in many other traditions; they inhabit mountains, waterfalls, ancient trees, storms, and even revered ancestors, which is why Shinto belief famously speaks of yaoyorozu no kami, the "eight million kami" — a number meant to convey countless rather than literal.
Several stories bind this family together across generations: Izanagi and Izanami's creation of the islands and their tragic parting at the gates of Yomi; the sibling rivalry between Amaterasu and Susanoo that plunged the world into darkness inside the cave Ama-no-Iwato; and Susanoo's later triumph over the serpent Orochi in Izumo, which produced the sword Kusanagi, one of Japan's Three Imperial Regalia. These myths remain central to Shinto shrine practice and festival life throughout Japan today.
Explore the wider Japanese mythology tradition for more on how these kami shape Shinto belief.
Members
- Izanagi — primordial creator god who forms the islands and fathers the celestial kami
- Izanami — primordial creator goddess who becomes ruler of the underworld, Yomi
- Amaterasu — sun goddess and ruler of heaven, ancestress of Japan's imperial line
- Tsukuyomi — moon god who governs the night
- Susanoo — storm and sea god, slayer of the serpent Orochi
- Raijin — thunder god who drums storms across the sky
