Kami, shin, or, archaically, jin (神) is defined in English as “god”, “spirit”, or “spiritual essence”, all these terms meaning “the energy generating a thing”.[8] Since the Japanese language does not distinguish between singular and plural, kami refers to the divinity, or sacred essence, that manifests in multiple forms. Rocks, trees, rivers, animals, places, and even people can be said to possess the nature of kami. Kami and people exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity.

Early anthropologists called Shinto “animistic” in which animate and inanimate things have spirits or souls that are worshipped. The concept of animism in Shinto is no longer current, however.  Shinto gods are collectively called yaoyorozu no kami (八百万の神), an expression literally meaning “eight million kami”, but interpreted as meaning “myriad”, although it can be translated as “many kami”. There is a phonetic variation, kamu, and a similar word in the Ainu language, kamui. An analogous word is mi-koto.

Kami refers particularly to the power of phenomena that inspire a sense of wonder and awe in the beholder (the sacred), testifying to the divinity of such a phenomenon.

The kami reside in all things, but certain objects and places are designated for the interface of people and kami: yorishiro, shintai, shrines, and kamidana. There are natural places considered to have an unusually sacred spirit about them and are objects of worship. They are frequently mountains, trees, unusual rocks, rivers, waterfalls, and other natural things. In most cases they are on or near a shrine grounds. The shrine is a building in which the kami is enshrined (housed). It is a sacred space, creating a separation from the “ordinary” world. The kamidana is a household shrine that acts as a substitute for a large shrine on a daily basis. In each case the object of worship is considered a sacred space inside which the kami spirit actually dwells, being treated with the utmost respect.