Who is Japan’s Supreme and Most Important God?

“Kami (神)” is the Japanese word for “god” and its honorific title is “Kami-Sama (神様)”.

When you hear Kamisama, the first person that comes to your mind might be the Kamisama in the manga “Dragon Ball” who has the same appearance as King Piccolo or Piccolo Daimao.

But of course, in the real world, he is not Japan’s highest and most important god🙂 Then, who is the supreme? Do you know that?

The Answer: Amaterasu Omikami (天照大御神)

You might say it’s “Hotoke-Sama (仏様)” or the Buddha.

But for the Buddhist, Buddha is not a god but an enlightened human being, and generally speaking, “Amaterasu Omikami (天照大御神)” or “Amaterasu Okami (天照大神)” is considered Japan’s supreme god or deity.

“Amaterasu Omikami (天照大御神)” literally means “great god who shines throughout the universe”, and the god (goddess) is the solar deity that ranks the highest of the “Yaoyorozu no Kami (八百万の神: eight million gods)”. 

One primary reason why Amaterasu Omikami is considered Japan’s supreme and most important god is that the deity is believed the ancestor god of the Imperial Family.

The god Amaterasu appears in both “Kojiki (古事記)” or Japan’s oldest chronicle compiled in 712 and “Nihon Shoki (日本書紀)” or Japan’s second oldest chronicle compiled in 720.

Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮)

Amaterasu Omikami is enshrined in the “Naiku (内宮: inner shrine) of the Shinto shrine “Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮)” (Google Map) located in the city of Ise, Mie Prefecture, and the god is said to make any wish come true.

(Reference Pages: Wikipedia 天照大神, DiscoverJapan )