When reading about Shintoism, there’s one deity whose names you’ll see over and over again – Inari Ōkami, Ō-Inari, or just Inari. This kami (deity, spirit) ...

A group of seven popular Japanese gods, the Shichifukujin is associated with good fortune and happiness. The group consists of Benten, Bishamon, Daikoku, ...

The Japanese ronin are legendary and yet they’re often widely misrepresented. Fascinating historic figures turned into romantic mythological characters, ...

Bushido was established around the eighth century as a code of conduct for the samurai class of Japan. It was concerned with the behavior, lifestyle, and ...

Japanese history and mythology are full of amazing weapons. Spears and bows were favored by many mysterious Shinto and Buddhist deities as well as many ...

Trying to sift through the different spirits, ghosts, and supernatural creatures in Japanese mythology can seem daunting at first, especially if you’re new ...

Traditional Japanese mythology and Shintoism in particular, are home to many unique creatures, spirits, demons, and other supernatural beings. Kami (gods) ...

The oni are often viewed as Japanese demons or evil spirits, or even goblins, trolls, or ogres. These beings are depicted with blue, red, or green face ...

Together with kami (gods), yokai is one of the words most often used when talking about Japanese Shinto mythology. The yokai are spirits or ghosts and a ...

Buddhism is usually viewed by Westerners as a pantheistic religion or a religion with no personal gods. However, that’s not the case with Japanese Esoteric ...