WORLD RELIGIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -An infinity of gods The quasi-infinite number of Shinto deities in Japan is sometimes estimated to 8 million. This number includes natural phenomenon, such as waterfalls or rocks with a specific shape, as well as primary elements such as the sun, the wind, and the earth.

Detailed explanation-2: -"Shinto gods” are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Humans become kami after they die and are revered by their families as ancestral kami.

Detailed explanation-3: -Kami are close to human beings and respond to human prayers. They can influence the course of natural forces, and human events. Shinto tradition says that there are eight million million kami in Japan.

Detailed explanation-4: -Shinto is polytheistic, involving the veneration of many deities known as kami, or sometimes as jingi. In Japanese, no distinction is made here between singular and plural, and hence the term kami refers both to individual kami and the collective group of kami.