Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c213IR // #c213Synthesis

They are very feebly characterised. Indeed, most of them may be said to have no characters at all.

— In our words · Source: Shinto: The Ancient Religion of Japan (William George Aston)

[Use when]

When a pantheon feels thin, consider that weak characterization is the feature: gods as addressable powers, not characters.

[Why it matters]

Aston's claim that the ancient Japanese imagination produced hundreds of deities but almost no personalities — polytheism without portraiture, distinct from the Greek model.

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