80 Shinto And Japanese Spirits Trivia Questions with Answers

80 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto practice, what is the ritual purification of people and places called?

Answer

Harae

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what yōkai is a cat whose tail splits into two as it grows old?

Answer

Nekomata

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what household spirit is said to bring fortune to families living in a home?

Answer

Zashiki-warashi

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

At Ise Grand Shrine, what is the Shinto ceremony of rebuilding the main shrine buildings every 20 years called?

Answer

Shikinen sengū

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto practice, what is the traditional first shrine visit of the Japanese New Year called?

Answer

Hatsumōde

Hard Hard difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese mythology, what underworld is ruled by the goddess Izanami after her death?

Answer

Yomi

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what term describes a spirit formed when an old household object becomes animate?

Answer

Tsukumogami

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what horned ogre-like yōkai is commonly shown with an iron club?

Answer

Oni

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what yōkai is known as a dream-eating supernatural creature?

Answer

Baku

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what fox spirit is believed to gain more tails as it grows older and wiser?

Answer

Kitsune

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what birdlike yōkai is traditionally associated with mountains and martial arts?

Answer

Tengu

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

At Japanese Shinto shrines, what are small wooden plaques used for written wishes called?

Answer

Ema

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto, what are formal prayers or ritual words addressed to the kami called?

Answer

Norito

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto shrine architecture, what gate traditionally marks the entrance to sacred space?

Answer

Torii

Hard Hard difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what ghostly spirit is traditionally linked to a person who died with unresolved emotions?

Answer

Yūrei

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto, what household talisman is traditionally placed on a small altar called a kamidana?

Answer

Ofuda

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

At which Shinto shrine is Amaterasu traditionally enshrined as the principal kami?

Answer

Ise Grand Shrine

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese mythology, which deity is associated with thunder, lightning, and storms?

Answer

Raijin

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what amphibious yōkai is commonly depicted with a water-filled dish on its head?

Answer

Kappa

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto practice, what protective amulet is commonly bought at a shrine and carried by a person?

Answer

Omamori

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what giant yōkai centipede is said to haunt Mount Mikami?

Answer

Ōmukade

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

At a Shinto shrine, what are the zigzag paper strips called that mark sacredness?

Answer

Shide

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

What is the traditional Japanese name for the portable shrine carried during a Shinto festival?

Answer

Mikoshi

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

What is the oldest surviving major Japanese chronicle, completed in 712?

Answer

Kojiki

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what term describes a spirit familiar controlled by an onmyōji?

Answer

Shikigami

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what dog spirit is created through a ritual involving a sacrificed dog?

Answer

Inugami

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what cat yōkai is traditionally believed to arise from an old or unusually large cat?

Answer

Bakeneko

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what faceless apparition is known for having no eyes, nose, or mouth?

Answer

Noppera-bō

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese mythology, which deity is the child of Izanagi and Izanami who becomes ruler of the sea?

Answer

Watatsumi

Hard Hard difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto practice, what Japanese term refers to a sacred grove or forest surrounding a shrine?

Answer

Chinju no mori

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what yōkai is a monstrous ox-headed, tiger-bodied creature said to live in the sea?

Answer

Ushi-oni

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto, what is the sacred rope often hung above a shrine entrance or around a holy object called?

Answer

Shimenawa

Hard Hard difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese mythology, what is the name of the jeweled spear used by Izanagi and Izanami to stir the primordial sea?

Answer

Ame-no-Nuhoko

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto shrine architecture, what is the main worship hall where offerings and prayers are presented called?

Answer

Haiden

Hard Hard difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto, what is the term for a sacred object or natural feature used as a vessel for a kami?

Answer

Yorishiro

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what umbrella-shaped yōkai is said to emerge from an old umbrella?

Answer

Kasa-obake

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what yōkai is a weasel-like creature said to cut people with invisible sickles?

Answer

Kamaitachi

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what yōkai is said to lick dirt and grime from bathrooms?

Answer

Akaname

Hard Hard difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto, what term refers to the spirit or soul of a kami, often discussed as having different aspects?

Answer

Mitama

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto, what term describes a kami connected to a particular clan, community, or locality?

Answer

Ujigami

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what shapeshifting yōkai is associated with the raccoon dog?

Answer

Bake-danuki

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

At Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Taisha, which Shinto kami is worshipped as the principal deity?

Answer

Inari Ōkami

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese mythology, what sacred mirror is one of Japan’s Three Sacred Treasures?

Answer

Yata no Kagami

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Shinto, which deity is traditionally regarded as a protector of warriors and Japan?

Answer

Hachiman

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what yōkai is an old household object believed to become animate?

Answer

Tsukumogami

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what yōkai is known for stretching its neck to extraordinary lengths at night?

Answer

Rokurokubi

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what spirit is represented by a floating ball of fire from a human soul?

Answer

Hitodama

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese mythology, which deity is linked to the land of Izumo and the building of the Great Shrine?

Answer

Ōkuninushi

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what name is given to a severed head that flies through the night?

Answer

Nukekubi

Easy Easy difficulty.
Shinto And Japanese Spirits

In Japanese folklore, what yōkai is a giant skeleton called?

Answer

Gashadokuro