I don't think that you're familiar with the concept of the word logic...Now, logic goes that if the number of gods is such a big one, there should be some lists of them, right?
Most Shinto deities are local spirits and patrons. Each little area has its own pantheon of minor deities, rituals, and rites, with a handful of major, national deities that everyone shares. The development of the religion is very closely tied with the history of Japan and its evolution as a culture during the Yamato Period and subsequent unification eras.
Translations like this are tricky, because there are no Western equivalents... I used to consider translations like this as sloppy, or rough, but it's really to do with chosing what best implies meaning without obscuring the original content.On a related note, it annoys me very much when Americans translate the word "kami" as "God", even though there has been NO indication that the speaker is Christian, since the default meaning of "God" in American society is the Christian deity. There are not many Christians in Japan.
Something you will find within Greek, Roman, Egyptian mythological beliefs. Local Gods being associated within a larger pantheon. Hinduism is also said to millions of Gods, probably for the same reason as GodEmperorLeto pointed out.GodEmperorLeto said:Most Shinto deities are local spirits and patrons. Each little area has its own pantheon of minor deities, rituals, and rites, with a handful of major, national deities that everyone shares. The development of the religion is very closely tied with the history of Japan and its evolution as a culture during the Yamato Period and subsequent unification eras.
Something you will find within Greek, Roman, Egyptian mythological beliefs. Local Gods being associated within a larger pantheon. Hinduism is also said to millions of Gods, probably for the same reason as GodEmperorLeto pointed out.
yukio_michael said:Translations like this are tricky, because there are no Western equivalents... I used to consider translations like this as sloppy, or rough, but it's really to do with chosing what best implies meaning without obscuring the original content.