Kami

The Kami are a collective of Japanese gods and demigods, represented by the ten most influential deities among their ranks.

Their shared realm is known as The Heavenly Court of the East. Of the many minor deities, only ten gods sit the seated council of the court at this time. Each of the council members has a single vote, but that vote must in turn reflect the votes of the lesser gods who affiliate with them. Even the minor deities who are ideologues for such concepts as 'oil lanterns' or 'bonsai trees' may contribute to the council, creating bureaucratic infighting and legislative inertia that would shame Byzantine.

The council is headed nominally by the most worshiped (and thus most powerful) of the Kami. Currently that is Inari, whose rule over the court is for the moment quite firm. Power struggles and courtly intrigue are not unknown, but primarily the court is concerned with focusing the will of the gods for the betterment of their earthly worship.

The Shinto are spiritually bound to the island of Japan and most of their realms are accessible only from locations on that island. Mortals have stumbled into these locations, but at great peril and sometimes with disastrous consequences.

Gods of the Shinto

• Inari: Goddess of rice and business. She is the most highly regarded among the Kami at the moment. Her Shinobi are known as “Kitsune”, and live up to their foxy reputation as being shrewd, but sly. In recent years Inari's order has been rocked by scandal, with one Shinobi going rogue and killing her predecessor. This resulted in the the selection of her first male Shinobi since the order was founded. Her power has waned slightly due to the loss of harmony she has experienced.

• Amaterasu: The Sun goddess herself. Her Shinobi are known for their passion and talent for complex fire magic. She is the oldest of the Shinto gods and still extremely potent, despite the decline of sun-worshipping.

• Hachiman: The Japanese god of war, who tends to be more preoccupied with “the art of war” as a whole rather than a focus on simply combat. His Shinobi have become most famous for their capacity for advising officers in the field, and the use of more modern weaponry for their ends.

• Fujin, Raijin and Ryujin: The Gods of the Storm. This trio of spirits have something of an overlapping domain as it pertains to storms. Fujin is concerned with the wind; Raijin the lightning and thunder; and Ryujin who calls the typhoons from the sea. The Shinobi pledged to these temples have historically been either best of friends or the worst of enemies, and rarely are they encountered by themselves.

• Tsukuyomi: The God of the moon. His Shinobi's talents for subterfuge and stealth make them Inari’s primary rivals. This sect has been almost exclusively male since it’s founding, and their Shinobi have a reputation for beauty and charm.

• Tenjin: Originally a god focused primarily upon poetry, in more recent times his portfolio has come to embrace the arts in general. His Shinobi are encouraged to develop their artistic sides, and often wear colorful garb into battle. Despite a quirky penchant for tagging walls with graffiti at night, they are otherwise every bit as capable as the rest of the traditions.

• Omoikane: The god of Wisdom has found close friends with Tenjin in most recent years. For many years rumors suggested Omoikane had no traditional Ninja and no Shinobi in the order. In more recent years it has become increasingly obvious that his disciples have simply taken the “spy” part of the game more seriously than others. Invisible in plain sight, they are the only sect to dispense with traditional shrines and typical uniforms entirely.

• Sarutahiko: The mighty Earth god. The members of this sect have a well established reputation for incredible feats of raw strength and endurance. Originally strongmen and miners, they are now overwhelmingly environmentalists and protectors of sand and soil alike.