------=_NextPart_000_0005_01C32954.F6C679E0
	charset="iso-8859-1"

Brian wrote:
    > Kami is translated literally from the Japanese as simply "god", 
just
> as megami is translated as "goddess". Sama is a suffix denoting great
> respect, equivalent to "lord" in English. Depending upon whom you
> talk to, Kamisama (I usually spell it Kami-sama) is either Odin or
> the Supreme Being. I tend towards Odin, since Kami-sama doesn't seem
> to be very supreme at all.

The problem I have with that translation is this; westerners (like self) 
see the word 'god" even un-capped, and tend to think in terms of Hairy 
Thunderers, dwelling above the plain of mere mortals (Zeus, Jehovah et 
al.). Kami, as I understand it, is more inclusive, ranging from Dieties 
in the classic (western) sense like Amaterasu the Sun Goddess to spirits 
of forest, stone, waterfall, and the like. Also in some cases certain 
ancestors or, in one recurring case, a living person.

But, of course, your milege may vary

Bob   rwsmith@hvc.rr.com  (relurks)
------=_NextPart_000_0005_01C32954.F6C679E0