InsaneJournal

➤ Izanami (2) — divine creator who brought the Japanese archipelago and many of the other kami into being, along with her brother-husband Izanagi. After she died in childbirth, her husband journeyed to the land of the dead to rescue her, but she had already eaten the food of the dead and could not leave. She made Izanagi promise not to look at her; he of course did so anyway, got freaked out by her decomposing form and fled, blocking the entrance to the underworld behind him and leaving Izanami to grow ever more angry and resentful.

➤ Izanagi (2) — divine creator who brought the Japanese archipelago and many of the other kami into being, along with his sister-wife Izanami. After fleeing his dead wife he went to purify himself, and from this ritual Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susano’o were born.

➤ Amaterasu (2) (3) — the most important deity in the Shinto religion, she is goddess of the sun and creation, ruler of the kami and progenitor of the Japanese Imperial Family.

➤ Susano’o (2) (3) — god of storms and sea, he’s a chaotic, temperamental figure who can be both heroic and terribly violent and destructive. Has a fraught relationship with his sister Amaterasu.

➤ Tsukuyomi (2) — god of the moon and estranged brother-husband of Amaterasu. She banished him after he killed the food deity Ukemochi (when he discovered that she creates food by pulling it out of her bodily orifices, not joking); their separation is the origin of day and night.

➤ Amanozako (2) — the motherless child of Susano’o, conceived when he let all his ferocious, violent emotions build up inside him and born when he vomited her out into the world. She has a furious temper and a contrarian attitude, and has been said to be the ancestor of all malevolent yōkai.

➤ Ame-no-Uzume — IT ME.

➤ Ebisu (2) — The ever-jovial god of luck, wealth, prosperity and fishermen. He is commonly held to have been the first child of Izanami and Izanagi, born without bones due to a transgression during the marriage ritual. He was cast out into the sea, eventually washing ashore to be found and raised by a group of Ainu people. Under their care he flourished and became the beloved “laughing god”.

➤ Fujin (2) — god of the wind and brother of Raijin. He has a wild demonic appearance and carries a large bag of air around his shoulders, which moves the winds of the world. He and his brother are neither good nor evil, but they’re unruly and capable of great destruction.

➤ Hachiman (2) — god of warriors and agriculture and divine protector of Japan who is worshipped in both Shinto and Buddhism. During the Japanese medieval period he was highly popular among samurai as well as the peasantry.

➤ Inari (1) (2) — the highly popular deity of foxes, fertility, prosperity rice, tea and sake; they are variously represented as male, female and androgynous. They are the guardian of the kitsune, fox-spirits, who act as the god’s messengers.

➤ Kojin — god the hearth and the kitchen, he embodies the destructive power of fire harnessed and turned towards a constructive purpose. He is said to destroy impurities and is responsible for watching over households.

➤ Raijin (2) — god of thunder, lightning and storms; like his brother Fujin, he’s demonic-looking and chaotic and at times terribly destructive, though he’s more of a trickster than anything truly malevolent. His storms could nurture crops and drive off invaders as well as causing harm.

➤ Ryujin (2) — a dragon and sea god, representing the power, perils and bounties of the sea. He was said to live in a coral palace from which he controlled the tides with magical jewels.

➤ Sarutahiko — hey, it’s Uzume’s hubby! He’s the leader of the earthly kami and a god of the crossroads, pathways and martial arts like aikido.

➤ Tenjin — patron deity of academics, scholarship, learning and the intelligentsia. He is considered to be the deified form of a real ninth century scholar, poet and politician who was sabotaged by rivals and died in exile. When said rivals were killed in a freak disaster a couple of decades later, the court of the Emperor decided the scholar’s angry spirit was responsible, so to placate him the Emperor formally restored all of his offices and ordered him to be worshipped under the name of Tenjin (meaning “sky god”). He was originally regarded as a god of natural disasters, but since the Edo period has been considered a patron of scholarship, much prayed-to by students.

➤ Benzaiten (or Benten) — goddess of everything that flows: water, time, words, speech, eloquence, music and, by extension, knowledge. She is the patron of artists, writers, dancers and geisha, and is seen to bestow financial fortune.

➤ Bishamonten (or Bishamon) — the armour-clad god of fortune in war and battles, a patron of warriors and protector of the righteous.

➤ Daikokuten (or Daikoku) — god of wealth, prosperity and the kitchen, the patron of farmers and leader of the Fukujin. In his right hand he carries the hammer of riches which can grant wishes and has a large bag of treasures slung over his shoulder.

➤ Ebisu — see above! The only purely Shinto deity of the bunch, representing abundance, prosperity and wealth in business.

➤ Fukurokuju — god of wisdom and longevity, traditionally considered to have originated as a mortal Taoist hermit sage. He is also the patron of chess players.

➤ Hotei — god of contentment and happiness, guardian of children and patron of diviners and bartenders

➤ Jurojin — god of longevity and the personification of the southern polar star

➤ Baku — Dream-eaters who can be called upon to devour nightmares. They must be summoned with caution, because if they remain hungry after eating the person’s nightmare, they may devour all their hopes and desires as well.

➤ Kappa — A water-dwelling creature with a water-filled a bowl-like depression in the crown of its head. They like cucumbers and sumo wrestling, and if you’re not careful they’ll steal your soul right out of your anus (lol really). They can be incapacitated by spilling the water from their heads, usually by tricking them into bowing.

➤ Kitsune — many-tailed foxes with supernatural powers, including shapeshifting and possession. Sometimes benevolent, sometimes malevolent, usually mischievous, they may be servants of Inari, tricksters or faithful lovers.

➤ Oni — horned, ogre-like villainous creatures that delight in destruction.

➤ Tsukumogami — a class of yōkai consisting of various man-made tools embodying often mischievous spirits. Uzume shares her dance studio with a few of them.