Editing Japan (section)

== Japanese Religion, Gods and Mythology ==
''see also: [[Mythology#Japanese_Mythology|Mythology]]''

Japanese people have always had a tendency to assimilate stuff from other cultures, most notably China and Korea. Their religion reflect this as they can be said to have "2+1" traditional religions - Shintoism, Buddhism and Christianity. Shintoism is the oldest and effectively the true native religion, being a blend of animism (meaning that all objects & creatures have a spiritual essence and worship is tied to specific places where said spirits reside) and nature/ancestor worship. Buddhism was introduced in 6th century from Korea and tended to blend with Shinto. Christianity is the youngest of the three, having been introduced by St. Francis Xavier in 16th century, it flourished for a time but a combination of distrust, European intrigues and peasant rebellions had the authorities ban it until the late 19th century.

Here are some of the more known terms and critters from the mythology and beliefs of the Japanese:

*'''Yokai''' - General term for fantastical creatures, spirits and demons that roamed Japan in elden times, maybe. Are distinguished by several characteristics such as true form (human, animal, plant), source of mutation/change (spiritual, mundane, natural, reincarnation) and external appearance (human, animal, plant, object, natural phenomenon etc.). As a fun side-note according to some folk beliefs the Yokai really dislike electricity so their absence or hiding is sometimes attributed to the rise of technology in the modern world.

*'''Tengu''' - Martial beings resembling winged humanoids that were initially thought to take the forms of birds of prey or monkeys and can be traditionally depicted with human, monkey and avian characteristics. Sarutahiko Ōkami is considered to be the original model of Konoha-Tengu (a supernatural creature with a red face and long nose), which is today widely considered the Tengu's defining characteristic in popular imagination.

*'''Kitsune''' - One of the most famous and recognised Yokai, often depicted as foxes or monstergirls with fox tails (anywhere between one tail and nine). They possess supernatural magical abilities that increase as they get older and wiser which is indicated by their tail number increasing until they become low-level demigods. They are also closely associated with the kami Inari as her messengers.

*'''Tanuki/Bake-danuki''' - Known as Japanese Racoon Dog to weebstern barbarians, they are real animals but also appear as mischievous spirits who often troll people just to make them look like fools. They use a wide array of disguises to achieve this and are sometimes described as even willier than the Kitsune. Oh and they also have xboxhuge testicles which they may sling over their shoulders and/or use as drums...yeah.

[[image:Suuhi_Nekomata.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Mind the claws and lvl5 necromancy.]]

*'''Oni''' - This big red lug could be described as Japan's ogres or trolls. Taking the appearance of a huge humanoid with bovine horns and red skin often wielding a Kanabo. They were initially seen similarly to the aforementioned ogres and trolls as brutish and evil giants but over time morphed into "noble demon" protectors. One of the most well known stories is a surprisingly wholesome tale of a Red Oni who wanted to befriend humans and [[This Guy|Blue Oni]] who pretended to attack a human settlement so that Red could be seen as "saving" it and thus be accepted among humans.

*'''Nekomata''' - The OG furry/nekomimi catgirls of Japan. Described as shape-shifting cats who were kept for too long and have sprouted twin tails and gained many supernatural abilities. Alas, this monster girl was on the asshole side of the spectrum and was associated with death and necromancy, but as any neckbeard worth their salt knows that's just a tsundere waiting to open up and be loved. Beware of the claws however.

There are also a handful of particular gods of note which have shrines in their honor.  The four below constitute the bulk of the shinto shrines in Japan, each having at least ten thousand existent shrines.

*'''Amaterasu''' - The Sun Goddess of Japan and mythical origin of the Imperial line.  Shinmei shrines are dedicated to Amaterasu.  

*'''Hachiman''' - Embodied in Emperor Ōjin, Hachiman is a Budda-like figure and of great importance to the Samurai.  Hachiman's domain is over enterprises of skill, particularly war, archery, and fishing, and the guardian of the Imperial house.  

*'''Inari''' - Indelibly associated with foxes and the red torii gates of Inari shrines.  Inari is the patron of agriculture, fertility, and prosperity in general.  Understandably, there are more shrines devoted to Inari than any other single kami, over thirty thousand.  

*'''Tenjin''' - The kami of Sugawara no Michizane, one of Japan's most famous ancient poets.  Tenjin is the patron of scholars, and shrines in his honor are ubiquitous (and very busy) near colleges.  Making an offering to Tenjin before taking a major test (particularly admissions tests) is practically a rite of passage.