List of Japanese deities

Major kami

• Amaterasu-Ōmikami Commonly called Amaterasu, she is the goddess of the sun as well as the purported ancestress of the Imperial Household of Japan. Her full name means "Great Goddess" or "Great Spirit Who Shines in the Heavens"; she may also be referred to as Ōhiru-menomuchi-no-kami. For many reasons, one among them being her ties to the Imperial family, she is often considered to be the "primary god" of Shinto.
• Ame-no-Uzume Commonly called Uzume, she is the goddess of dawn and revelry, instrumental to the "missing sun motif" in Shinto. She is also known as The Great Persuader and The Heavenly Alarming Female.
• Fūjin Also known as Kami-no-Kaze, he is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods, said to have been present at the creation of the world. He is often depicted as an oni with a bag slung over his back.
• Hachiman Also known as Hachiman-shin or Yawata no Kami, he is the god of war and the divine protector of Japan and its people. Originally an agricultural deity, he later became the guardian of the Minamoto clan. His symbolic animal and messenger is the dove.
• Inari Ōkami The god or goddess of rice and fertility. Their messengers and symbolic animal are foxes. They are often identified with the Ukanomitama and Buddhist deity Dakiniten.
• Izanagi The forefather of the gods, he is the first male as well as the god of creation and life. He and his wife, Izanami, were responsible for the birth of the islands of Japan and many kami, though she died in childbirth. Later, after his failed attempt to retrieve her from the underworld, he sired Amaterasu, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi.
• Izanami Izanagi's wife and sister, she is the first female as well as the goddess of creation and death. She died shortly after the birth of Kagu-tsuchi, and Izanagi followed her to the underworld, but failed to bring her back to the living world. A marital spat between the pair caused the cycle of life and death for all living beings.
• Kuninotokotachi is one of the two gods born from "something like a reed that arose from the soil" when the earth was chaotic. In the Nihon Shoki, he is the first of the first three divinities born after heaven and earth were born out of chaos, and is born from something looking like a reed-shoot growing between heaven and earth. He is known by mythology to reside on top of Mount Fuji. Kuninotokotachi is described as a hitorigami and genderless in Kojiki, while as a male god in Nihon Shoki. Yoshida Kanetomo, the founder of the Yoshida Shintō sect, identified Kuninotokotachi with Amenominakanushi and regarded him as the primordial god of the Universe.
• Ninigi-no-Mikoto Commonly called Ninigi, he was the grandson of Amaterasu. His great-grandson was Kan'yamato Iwarebiko, later to be known as Emperor Jimmu, first emperor of Japan.
• Ōkuninushi A god of nation-building, farming, business, and medicine.
• Omoikane The deity of wisdom and intelligence, who is always called upon to "ponder" and give good counsel in the deliberations of the heavenly deities.
• Raijin Commonly called Raiden, he is the god of thunder and lightning and is often paired with Fūjin. As with the latter, Raijin is usually depicted as an oni.
• Ryūjin Also known as Ōwatatsumi, he is a dragon, as well as god of the sea. He resides in Ryūgū-jō, his palace under the sea built out of red and white coral, from where he controls the tides with magical tide jewels. His great-grandson would become Emperor Jimmu.
• Suijin The God of Water.
• Susanoo-no-Mikoto Alternately romanized as Susano-o, Susa-no-O, Susano'o, and Susanowo. Reportedly called "Futsushi". He is the god of storms, as well as the ruler of the sea in some cases. He is also somewhat of a trickster god, as Japanese mythology extensively documents the "sibling rivalry" between him and Amaterasu. Susanoo was also responsible for the slaying of the monster Yamata no Orochi and the subsequent discovery of the sacred sword Kusanagi.
• Tenjin The god of scholarship, he is the deified Sugawara no Michizane, who was elevated to his position after dying in exile. Subsequent disasters in Heiankyo were attributed to his angered spirit.
• Toyotama-hime Also known as Otohime, she was the daughter of Ryūjin and the grandmother of Jimmu. It is said that after she gave birth to her son, she turned into a dragon and disappeared.
• Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto Also known as Tsukiyomi, Tsuki-no-Kami, Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto, and Tsukiyumi-no-Mikoto, he is the god of the moon. He killed the goddess of food, Uke Mochi, out of disgust and anger in the way she had prepared a meal. This caused Amaterasu to never face him again, causing the sun and moon to be in different parts of the sky.
• Takemikazuchi, known as a god of thunder and the god of swords.
• Takeminakata

  Minor kami

• Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the kami of stars who existed before the Kotoamatsukami. Mentioned under Takemikazuchi.
• Ajisukitakahikone
• Akkorokamui
• Ame-no-hohi
• Ame-no-Koyane A male deity, he is considered the "First in Charge of Divine Affairs", as well as the aide to the first Emperor of Japan. He is also considered to be the ancestor of the Fujiwara family.
• Ame-no-oshihomimi
• Ame-no-wakahiko
• Azumi-no-isora is a kami of the seashore. He is considered to be the ancestor of the Azumi people.
• Futsunushi Main deity at Katori Shrine.
• Iwai-nushi-no-kami, god name whose identity is obscure. Nihon shoki calls him Iwai-no-ushi and locates him in Katori which suggest the god might be Futsunushi. But there is reason to believe he might be Takehazuchi, and there are others who say this might even be Amaterasu.Futsunushi
• Isetsuhiko
• Ishikori-dome no Mikoto, god of metalworking.
• Kagu-tsuchi is the kami of fire, and a patron of blacksmiths and potters.
• Kotoshironushi
• Kuebiko god of knowledge and agriculture, represented in Japanese mythology as a scarecrow who cannot walk but has comprehensive awareness.
• Kuraokami, Okami, or Okami no kami is a legendary Japanese dragon and Shinto deity of rain and snow.
• Kukurihime no Kami, a goddess enshrined at Shirayama Hime Shrine.
• Kōjin, is the god of fire, the hearth, and the kitchen.
• Konohanasakuya-hime, the wife of Ninigi and daughter of Ōyamatsumi, and great-grandmother of Jimmu. She is also known as the goddess of Mount Fuji. She is also known by the name Sengen.
• Moreya
• Nigihayahi-no-mikoto reportedly called "Furu" and said to be a son of "Futsushi". Only Nigihayahi has the name of "Amateru " among Japanese deities. It is clearly described that Nigihayahi was ruling Yamato before conquest war of emperor Jinmu in the two oldest official history books of Japan, "Kojiki" or "Nihon Shoki". According to Nihon Ōdai Ichiran, Nigihayahi descended from the Heaven and was then served by and under the protection of Nagasunebiko, but after having been conquered, the relics Jingi brought by Nigihayahi as proof of his legitimacy were proven inferior to the mere bow and arrows of Emperor Jimmu. His descendants became thus the servants of the Imperial Dynasty.
• Oda Nobunaga enshrined at Kenkun-jinja.
• Omoikane, god of wisdom and intelligence.
• Ōyamatsumi, an elder brother of Amaterasu, and an important god who rules mountain, sea, and war, as well as the father of Konohanasakuya-hime.
• Shinatsuhiko, a kami of wind.
• Sukuna-Biko-Na A small deity of medicine and rain, who created and solidified the land with Ōkuninushi.
• Sarutahiko Ōkami, a kami of the Earth that guided Ninigi to the Japanese islands.
• Shōtoku Taishi was sometimes worshipped by Shintoists in Prince's Hall as the Kami of building trade and easy birth, like in the Hokai-ji of Kamakura.
• Seidai Myōjin, god of sports, enshrined at Shiramine Shrine in Kyoto, especially worshipped for kemari and football.
• Satimasuma reportedly called "Futsushi" and said a son or elder brother of "Futsu".
• Tajimamori, god who obtained the tokijiku no kagu no mi in Tokoyo-no-kuni, and hailed as "god of wagashi".
• Ta-no-Kami, is a kami who is believed to observe the harvest of rice plants or to bring a good harvest, by Japanese farmers.
• Tōshō Daigongen enshrined at Nikkō Tōshō-gū and similar shrines.
• Toyotomi Hideyoshi enshrined at Toyokuni-jinja.
• Ugajin, a harvest and fertility kami represented with the body of a snake and head of a man or woman. They may be derived from Ukanomitama.
• Ukanomitama, "the spirit of rice in storehouses", a kami associated with food and agriculture.
• Uke Mochi, sometimes called Ogetsu-hime-no-Kami, a goddess of food. After she had spat a fish, vomited or defecated game and coughed rice, she had been killed by a disgusted Tsukuyomi, or in some other versions, Susanoo.
• Yama-no-kami are a group of mountain deities, usually represented as female.

  Buddhism

• Aizen Myō-ō, a Wisdom King known to transform earthly desires into spiritual awakening.
• Amida Nyorai, commonly referred to as Amida-butsu, he is the primary Buddha of the Pure Land school of Buddhism. He is believed to possess infinite meritorious qualities, and is known as the "Lord of the Beyond and the Afterlife". He is one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas.
• Daruma, traditionally held in Buddhist mythology to be the founder of Zen Buddhism, as well as the founder of Shaolin Kung Fu. One legend reports that after years of facing a wall in meditation, Bodhidharma's legs and arms fall off due to atrophy. Daruma dolls were created in honor of this legend.
• Fudō Myōō, a fierce and wrathful Wisdom King who protects all by burning away impediments and defilements, and aiding them towards enlightenment.
• Idaten, guardian of Buddhist monasteries and monks.
• Jizō, a Bodhisattva known as the protector of the vulnerable, especially children, travelers, and expectant mothers. He is also regarded as the patron deity of deceased children and aborted fetuses, and the savior of hell-beings. His statues are a common sight, especially by roadsides and in graveyards.
• Kangiten, god of bliss.
• Kannon, a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. Commonly known in English as the "Goddess of Mercy".
• Yakushi Nyorai, a Buddha known for healing and medicine.

  Seven Lucky Gods

• Benzaiten Also known as Benten or Benzaitennyo, she is the goddess of everything that flows: words, speech, eloquence, and music. Said to be the third daughter of the dragon-king of Munetsuchi, over the course of years she has gone from being a protective deity of Japan to one who bestows good fortune upon the state and its people. Derived from Saraswati, the equivalent Hindu goddess.
• Bishamonten Also called Bishamon or Tamonten, he is the god of fortunate warriors and guards, as well as the punisher of criminals. Said to live halfway down the side of Mount Sumeru, the small pagoda he carries symbolizes the divine treasure house that he both guards and gives away its contents.
• Daikokuten Often shortened to simply Daikoku, he is variously considered to be the god of wealth, or of the household. He is recognised by his wide face, smile, and flat black hat. He is often portrayed holding a golden mallet, seated on bales of rice, with mice nearby.
• Ebisu The sole member of the gods believed to have originated in Japan, he was originally known as Hiruko, the first child of Izanagi and Izanami. Said to be born without bones, he eventually overcame his handicaps to become the mirthful and auspicious Ebisu. He is often depicted holding a rod and a large red sea bream or sea bass. Jellyfish are also associated with this god and the fugu restaurants of Japan will often incorporate Yebisu in their motif.
• Fukurokuju Often confused with Jurōjin, he is the god of wisdom and longevity and said to be an incarnation of the Southern Polestar. He is a star god accompanied by a crane and a turtle, which are considered to be symbols of longevity, and also sometimes accompanied by a black deer. The sacred book tied to his staff is said to contain the lifespan of every person on Earth.
• Hotei Best known in the Western world as the Laughing Buddha, Hotei is likely the most popular of the gods. His image graces many temples, restaurants and amulets. Originally based on a Chinese Chan monk, Hotei has become a deity of and abundance.
• Jurōjin Also known as Gama, he represents longevity. He is often seen with a fan and a stave, and accompanied by a black deer.