To outsiders, Japan and its Kami have always seemed to be homogenous, united, and indivisible. What most foreigners do not know about is the long and fractured history of the islands of Japan. They do not know about the Ainu people or the Ages of War, the divisions between earthly and heavenly Kami, or the invasion of Buddhist bodhisattvas who accepted roles as Kami. To gaijin, Japan has always been the unified Empire of the Rising Sun.
It’s true that Amaterasu, the sun Goddess, has ruled over all for virtual eternity. But there are lines of division that have broken out into all-out war. But know your history, and you can read between the lines of polite dialogue, between Fortune and Earthly, and you will find those divisions. Against outsiders, the Kami will come together like no other force. Even the Titans come to the Kami’s aid when all of Japan is threatened, for that is their way: something that isn’t quite Shintō, Buddhist, Bushido, or even Christian, but all of those, and more.
The Kami descended from the Heavenly Plane to rule over Japan some 2,500 years ago. Around 600 BCE, the Heavenly Kami decided that Ninigi-no-Mikoto, the grandson of Amaterasu, should travel to the Central Land of the Reed Plains (the Kansai Region of Japan) and rule as Emperor. He was given three gifts by his grandmother: her string of magatama jewels, the mirror that drew her from the cave, and the sword Kusanagi.
His path to Earth was blocked by Sarutahiko, the king of the KunitsuKami: the Earthly Kami. The Heavenly Kami had so long ignored the Earthly that the “lowly” Kami had organized under new leaders. They saw Ninigi as an interloper, an outsider, and an invader. Sarutahiko girded his loins and prepared for a fight against the upstart Ninigi-no-Mikoto, but he was blindsided by the laughter and beauty of Ama-no-Uzume, who had joined Ninigi’s entourage as an advisor.
She spoke kind and gentle words to Sarutahiko, and had Ninigi show Sarutahiko his grandmother’s heirlooms. Amazed, Sarutahiko agreed to stand down and discuss Ninigi-no-Mikoto’s expedition. Amano- Uzume’s charms won over Sarutahiko and Ninigi won the right to rule over all of Japan as Emperor without a single fight. Uniting it was another matter, but unite Japan they did, and the Kami’s power structure has remained since that time.
When foreign Gods arrived in the Land of Eight Million Kami, they were shown their place in the order of heaven and worshipped. This shinbutsu-shūgō, or synchronistic view, has saved Japan much religious strife. That isn’t to say there has been no strife. The arrival of Buddhism saw great upheavals that threatened to destroy Shintō belief, but synchronicity and the Buddhist Fortunes accepting their roles as Kami saved the faith. This, of course, created a third major political faction beyond just the heavenly and earthly Kami factions, a division the Fortunes are happy to play to their advantage. Yet today Japan is one of the most religiously integrated and pluralistic societies.
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