from the floating world

Raijin falling onto a torii gate

Raijin (雷神)

Raijin, also known as Raiden (雷電), is the Shinto kami of lightning, thunder, and storms. He is frequently depicted as a creature resembling an oni (鬼) who beats drums to create thunder. His companion is Raiju (雷獣), a creature with a body made of lightning who become upset during storms, jumping around and scratching objects with his claws (a lightning strike). Some people would hide their navels during storms because it was said that Raiju had a strange fondness for sleeping in bellybuttons, and Raijin would attack that person in order to wake Raiju up. Raijin is also often seen with Fujin, the kami of wind.

A statue of Fujin at Taiyu-in in Nikko

Fujin (風神)

Fujin is the Shinto kami of wind. He is generally depicted as a creature resembling an oni (鬼) with wild hair, and he carries the winds in a bag on his shoulders. Fujin is frequently seen with Raijin, the kami of lightning and thunder.

Otohime as she is portrayed in Okami

Otohime (乙姫)

Otohime, also known as Toyotamahime (豊玉姫), is the daughter of Ryujin, the kami of the sea. She married a hunter named Hoori after he went to the bottom of the sea looking for a lost fishhook. She made Hoori promise that he would not look while she was giving birth to their child, but he broke that promise to see her true form as a dragon. Ashamed, she fled, never to return. It is said that her child was the father of Emperor Jimmu, the first emperor of Japan.

Katase-Enoshima station by wilmack on Flickr.

This station was designed to resemble Ryugu-jo, Ryujin’s undersea palace.

Ryujin (龍神)

Ryujin, also known as Watatsumi (海神), is a kami of the sea.  He is the dragon king who resides in Ryugu-jo (竜宮城), a legendary undersea palace made of red and white coral. From Ryugu-jo, he controls the tides using two jewels called the “ebb jewel” and the “flow jewel”. One legend says that Empress Jingu was able to defeat the Korean navy using these jewels. First, she used the “ebb jewel” to cause the water to drop and strand the Korean ships. The soldiers left the ships to continue on foot, at which point Empress Jingu used the “flow jewel” to drown them.

In some forms of Shinto, dragons are considered the kami of all water. Prayers for rain, calm seas, and a bountiful catch of fish were frequently performed near bodies of water thought to be inhabited by dragons.

Fushimi Inari shrine, fox statues (by gunnsteinlye)

Fushimi Inari (by Héctor de Pereda)

Rows of torii at the Fushimi Inari-taisha, the main shrine dedicated to Inari.