It has been used to describe mind, God, supreme being, one of the Shinto deities, an effigy, a principle, and anything that is worshipped. Kami is the Japanese word for a deity, divinity, or spirit. Meaning Amaterasu, one of the central kami in the Shinto faith : 22 To be in harmony with the awe-inspiring aspects of nature is to be conscious of kannagara no michi ( 随神の道 or 惟神の道, 'the way of the kami'). Kami are believed to be 'hidden' from this world, and inhabit a complementary existence that mirrors our own: shinkai ( 神界, 'the world of the kami'). They are manifestations of musubi ( 結び), the interconnecting energy of the universe, and are considered exemplary of what humanity should strive towards.
In Shinto, kami are not separate from nature, but are of nature, possessing positive and negative, and good and evil characteristics. Traditionally, great leaders like the Emperor could be or became kami.
Many kami are considered the ancient ancestors of entire clans (some ancestors became kami upon their death if they were able to embody the values and virtues of kami in life). They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, beings and the qualities that these beings express, and/or the spirits of venerated dead people. Kami ( Japanese: 神, ) are the deities, divinities, spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena, or holy powers that are venerated in the Shinto religion.
