Demigods of Every Order

The Shinto Pantheon

The Shinto kami are much more difficult to pin down than the Greco-Roman gods. They are, in essence, more spirits than gods. They are manifestations of the interconnected energies of the world, and inhabit all elements of nature. They have two souls, one benevolent, one malevolent. They can even be spirits of the dead. There are, therefore, many different type of kami, but there are about 20 that could be considered the "major deities," arranged into three tiers of power.

Tier 1: Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo

Tier 2: Inari, Tenjin, Takemikazuchi, Ryujin/Wadatsumi, Sarutahiko, Okuninushi, Benzaiten

Tier 3: Taira no Masakado, Tajimamori, Kuraokami, Ame no Uzume, Kojin, Ishikori dome, Takeminakata, Ebisu/Kotoshironushi, Fujin, Raijin, Hachiman

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Perhaps the most interesting thing about the kami is that for the most part, they do not exist on the normal plane at all, instead inhabiting a perfected mirror existence known as shinkai. Hangami or "demigod" children gather, not at a camp, but at Shinkai Gakuen, a large school to teach them how to defend themselves from the more sinister kami, and hone the abilities they inherited from their parents. The metal of choice for the children of the Shinto kami is heavenly tamahagane, a shinkai version of tamahagane.