--- Bob Smith <rwsmith@hvc.rr.com> wrote:
> 
> 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.). 

Good point. Though, in this case, these kami are indeed the hairy
thunderers of Western mythology. 

> 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.

Yes, I keep forgetting that. Thanks to both you and CuSO4 for the
reminder. ^_^; 

Brian Welch