Kami
The sacred powers of Shinto: gods, ancestral spirits and the presence found in mountains, trees and shrines.
Also: shinto kami, yaoyorozu no kami
Kami is the Japanese word for the many beings or powers honoured in Shinto: Amaterasu, the sun kami, a local mountain, a clan ancestor, an exceptional tree or rock. The phrase yaoyorozu no kami, eight million kami, means very many. A kami is believed to dwell at a shrine, and in objects called shintai, which are not shown to worshippers. Amulets such as the omamori and ofuda carry the shrine's blessing, and purification, harae, is a basic act. Kami are not usually spoken of as magical beings, and Shinto priests would see their work as worship. The word matters here because many Japanese charms, from rope boundaries to wooden plaques, belong to this world.