Glossary of Shinto
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This is the glossary of Shinto, including major terms on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk (*) are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galleries.
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- Akabeko (赤べこ, lit. 'red cow') – A red papier-mâché cow bobblehead toy; a kind of engimono and an omiyage (a regional souvenir in Japan) that is considered symbolic of Aizu.
- Akomeôgi (衵扇, lit. 'chemise fan') – A type of fan held by aristocratic women of the Heian period when formally dressed; it is brightly painted with tassels and streamers on the ends. Held today in Shinto by a miko in formal costume for festivals. See also hiôgi.
- Aku (悪, lit. 'evil') – The term's meaning is not limited to moral evil, and includes misfortune, inferiority and unhappiness.[1]
- Akuma (悪魔, lit. 'devil') – A malevolent fire spirit, demon or devil.
- Akuru (悪樓, lit. 'evil tower') – Also known as the Akujin, the Kibi-no-Ananowatari-no-Kami and as the Anato-no-Kami, Akuru is a malevolent kami that is mentioned in the Keikoki (records regarding the time of the Emperor Keiko), the Nihonshoki (Chronicles of Japan), and the Kojiki (The Records of Ancient Matters).
- Akuryō (悪霊, lit. 'evil spirit') – A malevolent spirit, demon or devil.
- Akuryō Taisan (悪霊退散) – A spell or command to dispel a malevolent spirit, demon, or devil. One of the earliest uses of this phrase can be seen in Dōjōji.
- Ama (天, lit. 'heaven(ly)') – The divine/deva realm of incarnation, the highest realm on the Wheel of Reincarnation.
- Amagatsu (天児, lit. 'heaven(ly) newborn') – See hōko.
- Amakudari (天降 & 天下り, lit. 'heavenly descent') – A (living) being who is an incarnation of a divine being; an avatar.
- Amano-Iwato (天岩戸, lit. 'Heavenly Rock Cave') – In Shinto, Amano-Iwato is the name of the cave where Amaterasu fled after the violent actions of Susanoo caused the death of one of her weavers. Thus, the land was deprived of light, and mononoke from hell were free to roam the lands and wreak havoc. It took the other kami to lure her out again, restoring the sun to the world.
- Amatsu-Mikaboshi (天津甕星, lit. 'Dread Star of Heaven' or 'August Star of Heaven'), also-known-as Ame-no-kagase-o (天香香背男) – Originally a rebellious Shinto god who would not submit to the will of the other Amatsukami. Under Chinese Buddhist influence,[2] the god was identified with Myōken, either as the Pole Star or Venus, before being combined with the god of all stars, Ama-no-mi-naka-nushi (天之御中主神, lit. 'Divine Lord of the Middle-Heavens'). In some versions, Amatsu-Mikaboshi was born from the blood of Kagutsuchi spilt by Izanagi, after Kagutsuchi's birth. Amatsu-Mikaboshi is mentioned in passing in the Nihon Shoki as being subdued by Takemikazuchi, during the latter's conquest of the land of Izumo.
- Amanojaku (天の邪鬼, lit. 'malevolent spirit from heaven') – An oni-like creature in Japanese folklore; the amanojaku is thought to be able to provoke a person's darkest desires, and can instigate them into perpetrating wicked deeds. Similar to Amanozako. See also jaki and jama.
- Ama-no-uki-hashi (天之浮橋, lit. 'floating bridge of heaven') – In Shinto, it is the bridge connecting Earth and Takamagahara.
- Amanozako (天逆毎, lit. 'Opposing Heaven') – A goddess mentioned in the Kujiki, which states that she originated when Susanoo let his ara-mitama build up inside him until he vomited her out. Similar to amanojaku.
- Amaterasu Ōmikami (天照大神, 天照大御神 or 天照皇大神, lit. 'Heaven(ly) Illumination Great Honourable Imperial Divinity') – The Shinto sun goddess, tutelary kami and ancestor of the Emperor, enshrined at Ise Shrine.[1]
- Amatsukami (天津神, lit. 'Heavenly Deities') – Kami from Takamagahara.
- Amatsu tsumi (天津罪 / 天つ罪, lit. 'Crimes in Heaven') – A term for tsumi specifically committed against heaven. For example, the crimes committed by Susanoo-no-Mikoto against Amaterasu are considered amatsu tsumi. The corresponding concept to amatsu tsumi is kunitsu tsumi.
- Ame-no-Nuhoko (天沼矛, 天之瓊矛 or 天瓊戈, lit. 'Jewel(ed) Spear of Heaven') – The spear used by Izanagi and Izanami to raise the primordial landmass, Onogoro-shima, from the sea; it is often depicted as a naginata.
- Ame-no-Uzume (天宇受売命 or 天鈿女命, lit. 'Shining Heavenly Sky Goddess') – The Shinto goddess of the dawn, mirth, meditation, revelry and the arts, and the wife of Sarutahiko Ōkami. See also Otafuku.
- An* (案, lit. 'table' or 'platform') – A small portable table or platform used during Shinto ceremonies to bear offerings. It may have four, eight or sixteen legs.
- Ano-Yo (あの世, lit. 'that world') – See seishinkai.
- Anzen (安全, lit. 'safety' or 'security') – A type of omamori, specifically for safety, particularly safety at work, frequently requested from a kami, and in fact corporations often have a tutelary shrine specifically to ensure their business prospers.[1]
- Aoi Matsuri (葵祭, lit. 'Hollyhock Festival') – One of the three main annual festivals held in Kyoto, Japan (the other two being the Festival of the Ages (Jidai Matsuri) and the Gion Festival). It is a festival of the two kamo shrines in the north of the city: Shimogamo Shrine and Kamigamo Shrine. The festival may also be referred to as the Kamo Festival. It is held on 15 May of each year.
- Ara-mitama (荒魂, lit. 'Wild Soul') – The rough and violent side of the mitama.[3] The ara-mitama is associated with the colours black and purple, and the cardinal direction north. Ama-no-Zako is actually the incarnated ara-mitama of Susanoo-no-Mikoto.
- Aruki miko (歩き巫女, lit. 'wandering shrine maiden') – An itinerant miko that is not in service to a particular shrine, and wanders throughout the country performing services where needed, and living off-of charity.
- Ashihara no Nakatsukuni (葦原の中つ国, lit. The "Middle country of reed beds") – In Shinto, this term is applied to the plane of existence that exists between Takamagahara and Yomi, or the realm of the living. The term became another word for the country or the location of Japan itself. The term can be used interchangeably with Toyoashihara no Nakatsukuni.
- A-un (阿吽, lit. 'Om') – In Shinto-Buddhism, a-un is the transliteration in Japanese of the two syllables "a" and "hūṃ", written in Devanagari as अहूँ (the syllable, Om). See also Nio and Gozu and Mezu.
- Ayakashi (妖怪, lit. 'Strange, Unusual, Supernatural, Paranormal, Extraordinary') – An umbrella term that covers ghosts, phantoms, phantasms, apparitions and illusions, goblins, monsters, demons, devils and any kind of supernatural beasts and beings; the corporeal and the incorporeal; real or fantasy; ayakashi is a term more specific for yōkai that appear above the surface of some body of water. See also rinka, shiranui, will-o'-the-wisp, and St. Elmo's fire.
- Azusa yumi (梓弓, lit. 'cherry birch bow') – a sacred bow used in certain Shinto rituals in Japan, as well as a Japanese musical bow; made from the wood of the Japanese cherry birch tree (Betula grossa). Playing an azusa yumi forms part of some Shinto rituals; in Japan, it is universally believed that merely the twanging of the bowstring will frighten ghosts and evil spirits away from a house.
- Bakemono (化け物, lit. 'transforming thing') – A monstrous apparition; a monster or ghost.
- Banbutsu (万物, lit. 'ten thousand things') – A term used to refer to the whole world.
- Banshō (万象, lit. 'ten thousand likenesses') – A term describing all things.
- Bekkū or betsugū (別宮, lit. 'separate temple/shrine') – A subsidiary shrine next to the honden, which may however enshrine an equally important kami.[1]
- Benzaiten (弁才天, 弁財天, lit. 'Heavenly-Happy Talents') – Originally a Vedic goddess, Sarasvati, Benzaiten is a syncretic goddess and a member of the Seven Lucky Gods. She is also syncretized with Ichikishima-hime-no-mikoto (市杵島姫命, lit. 'Female [goddess] of the Island of Worship').[1]
- Bettō (別当, lit. 'acting-division head') – Before the shinbutsu bunri, when the Meiji period law forbade the mixing of Shinto and Buddhism, a bettō was a monk who performed Buddhist rites at a Shinto shrine.
- Bishamonten – Syncretic deity of Buddhist origin part of the Seven Lucky Gods.[1] A symbol of authority, he protects warriors.
- Bon Matsuri (盆, lit. 'Votive offering Festival') – A festival celebrated around July 15 in order to console the spirits of the dead. In theory a Buddhist festival, but in practice an ancestor and family festival part of Shinto.[1]
- Bonshō (梵鐘, lit. 'Buddhist temple bell') – Large bells found in Buddhist temples throughout Japan, used to summon the monks to prayer and to demarcate periods of time. Instead of containing a clapper, bonshō are struck from the outside using either a handheld mallet or a beam suspended on ropes. See also suzu, kagura suzu, rin, and dōtaku.
- Bosatsu (菩薩) – A bodhisattva. Term of Buddhist origin which is often used for deities of mixed Buddhist/Shinto ancestry such as Benzaiten and jizō, kami like Hachiman, and deified human beings like Tokugawa Ieyasu.[1]
- Bōrei (亡霊, lit. 'deceased spirit') – A term for a ghost; a type of yūrei, but one whose identity (and grudge) is unknown.
- Bokusen (卜占, lit. 'divination, scrying, fortune-telling') – The act of divining; foreseeing or a foretelling of future events. See also futomani and ukehi.
- Buden (舞殿, lit. 'dance hall') – Another word for a kaguraden, a pavilion or stage dedicated to the performing of the kagura.
- Bunrei (分霊, lit. 'soul division') – A process of division of a kami producing two complete copies of the original, one of which is then transferred to a new shrine by a process called kanjō.
- Bunsha (分社, lit. 'shrine division') – A shrine that is a part of a network headed by a more famous shrine, from whence its kami was transferred by kanjō.[1]
- Busshitsukai (物質界, lit. 'material world') – The corporeal world.
- Chi (智, lit. 'wisdom, knowledge, intelligence') – One of the virtues of bushido.
- Chigi* (千木, lit. 'Thousand Wood(en beams)') – Forked decorations common at the ends of the roof of shrines.
- Chihara (襅, lit. 'finishing-touch robe') – A type of ceremonial overcoat with a long white hem worn by a Miko in certain Shinto ceremonies; similar to a Kannushi's Jōe over-robes.
- Chinja (鎮社, lit. 'garrison shrine') – The tutelary kami or tutelary shrine of a certain area or Buddhist temple; see also chinjusha.
- Chinjusha* (鎮守社, lit. 'garrison protector shrine') – a small shrine dedicated to the tutelary kami of an area or building[1] (see also Chinju).
- Chitose ame (千歳飴, lit. 'thousand-year candy') – Long, thin sticks of red-and-white candy—which symbolizes healthy growth and longevity—sold at festivals for children, specifically for Shichi-Go-San. Chitose ame is given in a bag decorated with a crane and a turtle—which represent long life in Japan. Chitose ame is wrapped in thin, clear, and edible rice paper film that resembles plastic.
- Chōchin (提灯, lit. 'portable lantern') – Paper lanterns always present at Shinto festivals.
- Chōchō (蝶, lit. 'butterfly') – Butterflies native to Japan and to Japanese culture. The chōchō is also featured among engimono (above).It is seen as lucky, especially if seen in pairs; if a symbol contains two butterflies dancing around each other, it is a symbol of marital happiness.
- Chikushō (畜生, lit. 'animal/livestock') – The mortal, animal realm of incarnation, the third-lowest realm on the wheel of reincarnation. See also rinne.
- Chōzubachi (手水鉢, lit. 'hand-washing earthenware basin') – Usually made of stone, a chōzubachi is a water bowl, is a vessel used to rinse the hands in Japanese temples, shrines and gardens; see also Chōzuya.
- Chōzuya (手水舎, lit. 'hand-washing pavillion') – A Shinto water ablution pavilion for a ceremonial purification rite. The pavilion contains a large water-filled basin called a chōzu-bachi.
- Chinkon (鎮魂, lit. 'the calming of the spirits') – A Shinto ritual performed for converting ara-mitama into nigi-mitama, quelling maleficent spirits, prevent misfortune and alleviate fear from events and circumstances that could not otherwise be explained; i.e. Ara-mitama that failed to achieve deification due to lack of sufficient veneration, or who lost their divinity following attrition of worshipers, became yōkai.
- Chinkonsei (鎮魂祭, lit. 'Calming-of-the Spirits Service' or 'Requiem') – A Shinto Matsuri (a festival) performed for converting ara-mitama into nigi-mitama, quelling maleficent spirits, preventing misfortune and alleviating fear from events and circumstances that could not otherwise be explained.
- Chūgi (忠義, lit. 'Duty and Loyalty') – One of the virtues of bushido.
- Daijōsai (大嘗祭, lit. 'Great Tastes Festival') – A ceremony marking the beginning of an emperor's reign in which he offers first fruits to ancestors, including Amaterasu.[1]
- Daikokuten (大黒天, lit. 'Great Black Heavens') – A syncretic god, part of the Seven Lucky God fusing Mahakala, and Ōkuninushi.[1]
- Daikyōkan Jigoku (大叫喚地獄, lit. 'Hell of Great Screaming') – The fifth level of Jigoku; sinners who have committed murder (even the murder of small creatures such as insects), theft, degeneration, drunkenness, and lying are sent here.
- Daishonetsu Jigoku (大焦熱地獄, lit. 'Hell of Great Burning') – The seventh level of Jigoku. Sinners who have committed murder (even the murder of small creatures such as insects), theft, degeneration, drunkenness, lying, blasphemy, and rape are sent here.
- Den-den daiko (でんでん太鼓) – a Japanese hand-held pellet drum that is used in Shinto-Buddhist ceremonies.
- Dōsojin (道祖神, lit. 'travelling guardian divinities') – A group of liminal kami and Buddhist gods, protectors of roads, borders, boundaries and other places of transition.[1]
- Dojin (土神, lit. 'earth god') – Another name for any Shinto earth deity.
- Dōtaku (銅鐸, lit. 'copper bell') – Large Japanese bronze bells smelted from relatively thin bronze and richly decorated. See also bonshō, rin, and suzu.
- Ebisu (恵比須, 恵比寿, 夷, 戎) – The kami of prosperity found at both temples and shrines. One of the Seven Lucky Gods.
- Eboshi (烏帽子, lit. 'raven (black) hat') – A type of pointed hat originally worn by Heian era aristocrats and samurai. Worn by Kannushi as formalwear for occasions such as festivals and weddings. See also kanmuri and kazaori eboshi.
- Eirei (英霊) – The spirit or ghost of a warrior/soldier who fell in battle.
- Ema* (絵馬, lit. 'picture horse') – Small wooden plaques on which worshippers at shrines, as well as Buddhist temples, write their prayers or wishes.
- Engimono (縁起物) – An umbrella term for talismans and good luck charms such as omamori and ofuda.
- Fuji-san (富士山) – The most famous among Japan's three sacred mountains, the "Three Spiritual Mountains" (三霊山). Mt. Fuji is inhabited by a kami called Konohanasakuya-hime.[1]
- Fūjin (風神) – The kami of the winds who is the brother of Raijin; together, they are both said to be two of the many sons and other children of Izanagi and Izanami.
- "Restoration Shinto" (復古神道) – A term synonymous with kokugaku.
- (太占) – A traditional Shinto system of divination, similar to the Chinese oracle bone technique, that uses stag bones.
- Gagaku (雅楽, lit. 'elegant music') – Ancient court music that was introduced into Japan with Buddhism from the Korean peninsula and China; now played for Shinto and Buddhist rituals and ceremonies.
- Gaki (餓鬼, lit. 'hungry ghost') – The "hungry ghost" realm of incarnation, the second-lowest realm on the wheel of reincarnation. See rinne.
- Gehōbako (外法箱, lit. 'outer path box') – A supernatural box that is used to hold Shinto paraphernalia, particular to a given jinja; such contents include dolls, animal and human skulls, and Shinto rosaries/prayer beads.
- Gi (義, lit. 'righteousness') – One of the virtues of bushido.
- Gogyo (五元) – The Five Elements.
- Gion Matsuri (祇園祭) – One of the three main annual festivals held in Kyoto, Japan (the other two being the Aoi Matsuri and the Jidai Festival). Gion Matsuri is one of the largest festivals in Japan for purification and pacification of disease-causing-entities. It takes place on 17 and 24 July.
- Giri (義理, lit. 'duty') – One of the virtues of bushido.
- Go-hei* (御幣, lit. 'great wand') – A wooden wand decorated with two shide and used in Shinto rituals as a yorishiro.
- Gokō (後光, lit. 'background light') – The Shinto-Buddhist equivalent of an aureola or halo. See also tenne.
- Gokuraku Jōdo (極楽浄土, lit. 'paradise' or 'pure land') – See jōdo.
- Gongen (権現, lit. 'Current Authority; Incarnation') – A Buddhist god that chooses to appear as a Japanese kami to take the Japanese to spiritual salvation, and a name sometimes used for shrines (e.g. "Tokusō Gongen") before the shinbutsu bunri.
- Gongen-zukuri (権現造) – A shrine structure in which the haiden, the heiden and the honden are connected under the same roof in the shape of an H.* See also Ishi-no-ma-zukuri.
- Goryō (御霊, lit. 'honourable soul') – A soul, angry for having died violently or unhappy, which needs to be pacified through Buddhist rites or enshrinement, like Sugawara no Michizane;[1] vengeful Japanese ghosts from the aristocratic classes, especially those who have been martyred.
- Gosekku (五節句, lit. 'five seasonal festivals') – The five annual cultural festivals that were traditionally held in the Japanese imperial court. The Gosekku were originally adapted from Chinese practices and first celebrated in Japan in the Nara period in the 8th–10th centuries CE. The festivals were held until the beginning of the Meiji era.
- Gozu-tennō (牛頭天王) – Buddhist name of Susanoo, considered an avatar of Bhaisajyaguru.[1]
- Gozu and Mezu (牛頭, lit. 'Ox-head', and 馬頭, lit. 'Horse-head') – In Shinto-Buddhism, Gozu and Mezu are the Japanese names for Niútóu and Mǎmiàn, two guardians of the underworld in Chinese and Shinto-Buddhist mythology. Both have the bodies of men, but Gozu has the head of an ox while Mezu has the face of a horse. They are the first beings a dead soul encounters upon entering Jigoku; in many stories they directly escort the newly dead to the underworld.
- -gū (宮, lit. 'shrine, temple') – A suffix of some shrine names indicating it enshrines a member of the imperial family.[1] Hachiman-gū shrines, for instance, enshrine Emperor Ōjin.
- Gunbai (軍配, lit. 'army positioning') – An item associated with leadership and ceremonial significance, back in Ancient Japan; wielded by royalty, aristocracy, daimyo, military leaders, and kannushi; nowadays used by umpires in sumo.
- Hachiman (八幡神, lit. 'Eight Banners Divinity') – A syncretic tutelary kami of the warrior class. First enshrined at Usa Hachiman-gū, it consists of three separate figures: Emperor Ōjin, his mother, and his wife Himegami.[1]
- Hachiman-zukuri (八幡造, lit. 'Hachiman architecture') – Shinto architectural style in which two parallel structures with gabled roofs are connecting on the non-gabled side forming a single building which, when seen from the side, gives the impression of two.[4]
- Hagoromo (羽衣, lit. 'Feather[ed] Raiment') – The stole-like, feathered, heavenly kimono or mantle of tennin (see below), spiritual beings found in Japanese Shinto-Buddhism; hagoromo allowed the tennin wearing them to fly.
- Haiden (拝殿, lit. 'Hall of Prayer') – A shrine building dedicated to prayer, and the only one of a shrine open to laity.
- Hakama (袴) – A type of traditional Japanese clothing; originally inspired from kù (simplified Chinese: 裤; traditional Chinese: 褲), trousers used by the Chinese imperial court in the Sui and Tang dynasties. This style was adopted by the Japanese in the form of the hakama, beginning in the sixth century.
- Haku (魄) – Stemming from Taoism, haku is the complement of kon, and is the life force that is attached to the body, and returns to the earth after death.
- Hakurei (魄霊) – The soul or spirit of a person who has usually just died.
- Hakusan – Collective name given to three mountains worshiped as kami and sacred to the Shugendō.[5] Hakusan shrines are common all over Japan.
- Hamaya (破魔矢, lit. 'evil-banishing arrow') – Decorative arrows bought for good luck at Shinto shrines at New Year's and kept at home all year.[1]
- Hama Yumi (破魔弓, lit. 'evil-banishing bow') – A sacred bow.
- Han-honji suijaku (本地垂迹) – A theory conceived by Yoshida Kanetomo which reversed the standard honji suijaku theory, asserting Buddhist gods were avatars of Japanese kami.[1]
- Hanagasa (花笠) – A flowered-hat worn by miko during festivals.
- Hannya (般若, lit. 'Prajñā') – A female yōkai found in Japanese folklore (and in kagura and Noh), and is most often described as a monstrous oni of a female; a hannya is a yōkai who was originally once a normal mortal human woman, but one who has become so overcome with her jealousy that it has metaphorically consumed her, followed by literally transforming her.
- Harae (祓, lit. 'purification') – General term for rituals of purification in Shinto.[1] Methods of purification include misogi.
- Haraedo (祓戸, lit. 'place of purification') – A place where ritual purification is performed.
- Haraedo-no-Kami (祓戸の神) – Kami of purification. Amongst the many kami born when Izanagi performed misogi in order to cleanse the netherworld filth on him after he had returned from his futile attempt to retrieve his late consort, Izanami.
- Haraegushi (祓串, lit. 'purification wand') – an ōnusa having a hexagonal or octagonal wand.
- Hassoku-an (八足案, lit. 'eight-legged table') – See an.
- Hatsumōde (初詣, lit. 'first accomplishment') – The first shrine visit of the New Year.
- Hatsuhinode (初日の出, lit. 'First Rising of the Sun') – The first sunrise of the New Year.
- Hatsuyume (初夢, lit. 'first dream') – The first dream that a person has in the New Year. In Shinto, it is believed that the subjects of the first dreams of the year are representative of what one's upcoming year will be like.
- Heiden (火産霊, lit. 'fireborn spirit') – A section of a shrine where offerings are presented to the gods.
- Heihaku (幣帛) – See also go-hei.
- Heishi (瓶子, lit. 'vase') – Small bottles used for holding offerings, such as sake; numbered amongst the shingu for holding offerings.
- Himorogi (神籬, lit. 'divine fence') – Temporary sacred spaces or altars used to worship. Himorogi are usually areas demarcated with green bamboo or sakaki at the four corners supporting shimenawa.
- Hinamatsuri (雛祭り, lit. 'girls' festival') – A ceremony held on 3 March, celebrating the women of Japan, as well as expressing wishes for their continued good health. Originally celebrated as the "Peach Festival", it became known as Hina-Matsuri during the reign of Empress Meishō.
- Hi-no-tama (火の玉, lit. 'balls of fire') – Fireballs whose presence indicate supernatural activity.
- Hiōgi (檜扇, lit. 'cypress fan') – A fan used originally by Heian aristocrats, and today by Shinto priests in formal settings.[1] See also akomeôgi (above)
- Hirairi (平入) – A style of construction in which the building has its main entrance on the side that runs parallel to the roof's ridge (non gabled-side). The shinmei-zukuri, nagare-zukuri, hachiman-zukuri, and hie-zukuri styles belong to this type.
- Hirazara (平皿, lit. 'flat plate') – Numbered amongst the shingu (tools used in shrine altars and home altars) for holding offerings, specifically one for holding rice and one for holding salt.
- Hitobashira (人柱, lit. 'human pillar') – A human sacrifice, buried alive under or near large-scale buildings like dams, bridges and castles. Hitobashira can also refer to workers who were buried alive under inhumane conditions.
- Hitodama (人魂, lit. 'human soul') – The wayward soul of a human being who has already died.
- Hitorigami (独神, lit. 'monad kami') – Shinto kami who came into being alone, as opposed to those who came into being as male-female pairs.
- Hōhei/hōbei (奉幣, lit. 'money offering') – Offerings made to a kami, usually consisting in heihaku, but sometimes of jewels, money, weapons or other objects.[1]
- Hōko (這子, lit. 'crawling child') – A soft-bodied doll given to young women of age and pregnant women in Japan as an amulet to protect both the new mother and the unborn child.
- Hokora/hokuraman (祠 or 神庫) – An extremely small shrine. One of the earliest words for shrine.
- Ho-musubi (火産霊) – Another name for Kagutsuchi.
- Honden (本殿, lit. 'main hall') – Also called shinden (神殿) ("divine hall"), the honden is the most sacred building of a shrine, intended for the exclusive use of the enshrined kami.
- Honji suijaku (本地垂迹) – A theory dominant for centuries in Japan according to which Japanese kami are local manifestations of Indian gods.
- Hongū (本宮, lit. 'main shrine') – Located only within a jingū, the main shrine enshrining the principal kami, as opposed to betsugū, sessha or massha. The term includes haiden, heiden and honden.[1] See also honsha.
- Honsha (本社) – The main shrine of a shrine complex. It is followed hierarchically by sessha and massha.
- Hōsōshi (方相氏) – An obsolete term for the role driving away devils at a religious ceremony, or the driver of the hearse carrying the coffin of a deceased emperor, back in ancient Japan; a ritual exorcist fulfilling a role in a funeral, called tsuina (see below). Originally a Tang dynasty Chinese custom, later adopted by the Japanese during the Heian period.
- Hotoke (仏, lit. 'Buddha') – A term meaning either Buddha or dead soul. While Buddhist in origin, the term is used in the second sense by all Japanese religions.[1]
- Hyakudoishi (百度石, lit. 'hundred-times stone') – Sometimes present as a point of reference for the hyakudomairi near the entrance of a shrine or Buddhist temple.
- Hyakudomairi (百度参り, lit. 'hundred-times visits') – A worshiper with a special prayer will visit the shrine a hundred times. After praying, they must go at least back to the entrance or around a hyakudoishi for the next visit to be counted as separate.
- Hyōi (憑依, lit. 'Possession') – Possession, specifically possession by a spirit or a kami.
- A hassoku-an
- Chigi (forked decorations)
- An ema
- A hokora
- A hyakudoishi
- A gohei
- A haiden
- Hatsumōde at Meiji Shrine, Shibuya, Tokyo
- Ichijama (生邪魔, lit. 'living evil spirit') – A type of curse from Okinawa; it is a type of ikiryō—-a spirit of a still-living person which leaves the body to haunt its victim. An ichijama is enacted using a special doll known as an ichijama butokii. See also Ushi no Koku Mairi.
- Ichijama Butokii (生邪魔仏, lit. 'living evil spirit image') – A doll used to enact an ichijama curse.
- Ichikishima-hime-no-mikoto (市杵島姫命) – See Benzaiten.
- Ichirei Shikon (一霊四魂, lit. 'one spirit, four souls') – A philosophy within Shinto in which one's soul consists of a whole spirit called naohi (直霊) that is connected with the heaven and the shikon: the ara-mitama, kushi-mitama, nigi-mitama, and saki-mitama.
- Ihai (位牌) – A placard used to designate the seat of a deity or past ancestor. The name of the deity or past ancestor is usually inscribed onto the tablet. With origins in traditional Chinese culture, the spirit tablet is a common sight in many East Asian countries where any form of ancestor veneration is practiced.
- Ikan (衣冠) – A set of official robes worn by aristocrats and court officials of the Heian-era court. Worn today in Shinto by a kannushi in formal costume for festivals.
- Ikiryō (生霊) – In Japanese popular belief, folklore and fiction, it refers to a disembodied spirit that leaves the body of a person who is still living and subsequently haunts other people or places, sometimes across great distances..
- Imi (忌み, lit. 'abhorrent') – Something to be avoided, particularly to a ceremony.[1] See also kegare and tsumi.
- Imikotoba (忌み言葉, lit. 'abhorrent words') – Words to be avoided in certain occasions.[1]
- Inari Ōkami* (稲荷大神) – The Shinto kami of fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry, and worldly success. Inari's shrines can be identified by the stone foxes which adorn it.
- Ireisai (慰霊祭, lit. 'consoling spirits festival') – A festival to remember and pacify the spirits of war dead that takes place at Yasukuni Shrine and other shrines built to the purpose.[1]
- Ise Shrine (伊勢神宮, lit. 'The Great Forces Divine Palace') – A shrine in Mie prefecture considered one of the holiest Shinto sites.
- Itako/Ichiko (神巫, 巫子 & 市子) – The blind female shamans from northwest Honshu who act as a link between human beings and kami, echoing what was probably the former role of miko in Shinto.[1]
- Iwakura* (磐座) – A rock where a kami has been invited to descend for worship. See yorishiro.
- Izanagi (イザナギ) – The brother-husband of Izanami, Izanagi is one of the Japanese creator kami; according to the Nihongi and Kojiki, he gave birth to Japan,[1] and is the father of Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo.
- Izanami (イザナミ) – The sister-wife of Izanagi. She is one of the Japanese creator kami, according to the Nihongi and Kojiki, gave birth to Japan,[1] later dying in childbirth with her last child, Kagutsuchi, who burned her alive and sent her to the Underworld, Izanami becomes a kami of death.