「Alright kiddoes, it’s time for yet another episode of “Nani rambles about Japanese Mythology v.2.0.” Today’s topic is not only relevant for Noragami’s lore or for the basic understanding of how Yato’s “divinity” influences on his attitudes too, also to understand how the spirit of any shinto-based deity works, in theory. Special thanks to Amanda™ for enabling me like this.」
Mitama (御霊) roughly translates as “honorable spirit”, and is the basic word used to describe the spirit of the Kami, the base of their being. It’s also said that humans have it, or that it is at least how their spirit is presented after-death, but it’s not as common unless they were to be, say, deified.
「Not to be confused with Amaterasu’s sacred treasure, Mitama.」
A Kami’s mitama is composed of distinct souls, which are often portrayed as relatively independent agents coexisting in one only spirit (picture an angry Yato and a normal Yato interacting, that’s basically it)—some sources say the mitama has two souls, others say four, but I’ll focus on explaining the basic ones, ara and nigi, then delve into the minor ones, saki a kishi.
The first soul is Ara-mitama, the “rough soul” of the Kami. It’s the soul of bravery, aggressive action, anger and/or violence; it’s presented as a Kami’s first appearance (Yaboku?), and must be pacified through rite and worship in order to avoid “their wrath”, to bring the most peaceful side of the deity. It also appears in times of war or calamity.
「A great example of ara-mitama would be Tenjin’s aggressive streaks in the past (as described by Tsuyu); his spirit had to be deified and enshrined by the local peeps in order to avoid any more destruction.」
The second soul is the Nigi-mitama, the “gentle soul” of the Kami. After proper pacification of the ara-mitama, it becomes the main soul overall as it is the “normal state” or “functional side” of a properly worshiped deity. It works as the balancing counterpart of the “rough soul”, and some sources depict it as the one that brings peace and blessings.
「You might have noticed how Yato went from grumpy and always angry (first chapters) to a happier, more cheerful stance (later chapters). This is likely not only because he’s genuinely happy with Yukine and Hiyori, but also because Hiyori’s own small worship could be helping to bring his nigi-mitama afloat, and is doing somewhat of a job pacifying his ara-mitama for once.」
The other two souls are the Saki-mitama, the providing soul that brings good harvest, and the Kushi-mitama, the mysterious power that provides blessings, cures illnesses and causes transformations. Some sources though either describe them as other functions or parts of the nigi-mitama, or don’t mention them at all.
「If I personally had to find the place of these two in Noragami’s lore though, I’d compare them to the deities’ ability of using spells rather than a side of them, per se. There’s not a lot said about these two.」
@surutakai replied to your post: 「public service announcement i lovE my muse far...
THIS IS ME I R L NANI HIT ME WITH THIS SHI
「I CRY IRL FOR THIS SHIT TOO TBH I JUST SIT HERE AND
STARE @ MY FAVORITE PANELS FROM THE MANGA AND
screams quietly liKE LOOK AT MY CHILD GO I LOVE HIM I!!!
honESTLY HIT ME UP EVEry TIME YOU FEEL LIKE THIS TOO
chances are I probABLY AM THE SAME we can scream and cry
about yato together and #no one can judgE uS aNYMOR E--」
『 Yato honestly hasn’t changed much. Whereas he almost completely and utterly follows what Yukine says, he is still prone to throw himself out into danger to protect his regalia. It wasn’t until recently ( @shinxki @calamitouscyan @hafuriyuki ) that he completely promised not to do that anymore and put himself behind his shinki when it comes to extensive fights or drastic situations.
It’s not that he doesn’t trust them.
It’s the complete opposite.
He spent so long alone and finally has people who care about him and a place to call home. Because of this, he wants to repay them (even if it costs him his own life.) Yato cares too much, so it’s a weakness. 』
it was said a little too happily considering the context, but they were just
excited that they finally repeated it properly. they clap their hands,
satisfied smile wide and bright as they look to him. ❛ jus’ like that? ❜
