Hitorigami (独神) are

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

deities (

kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

) who came into being alone, as opposed to those who came into being as male-female pairs. According to the ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'', this group includes the "three deities of creation" and the "separate heavenly kami." They are described as hiding themselves away once they achieved awareness. Most are said to have been created from the "male essence" and, as such, are male in gender. Two hitorigami,

Kunitokotachi In Shinto faith, Kuninotokotachi or Kuni-toko-tachi is one of the two Gods born from "something like a reed that arose from the soil" when the Earth was chaotic. In the , he is the first of the seven generations of Divinities born after the ...

and

Amenominakanushi Ame-no-Minakanushi (天之御中主, lit. "Heavenly Ancestral God of the Originating Heart of the Universe") is a deity (''kami'') in Japanese mythology, portrayed in the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki'' as the first or one of the first deitie ...

, summoned the divine pair of

Izanagi Izanagi (イザナギ/伊邪那岐/伊弉諾) or Izanaki (イザナキ), formally referred to with a divine honorific as , is the creator deity (''kami'') of both creation and life in Japanese mythology. He and his sister-wife Izanami are the ...

and

Izanami , formally referred to with the honorific , is the creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother-husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial ...

into being and charged them with creating the first land in the swirling salt water that existed below the heavens.

List of ''Hitorigami''

;Three Deities of Creation: *

* Takamimusuhi * Kamimusuhi ;Separate Heavenly Kami: ''(partial list)'' *

Umashiashikabihikoji Umashiashikabihikoji is a Japanese primordial deity. He was the fourth one to come into existence. His name in Japanese is 宇摩志阿斯訶備比古遅神. He is also known as "Fine Budding Reed Lad". He is in the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihongi''. ...

* Amenotokotachi *

Notes

Shinto kami {{Shinto-stub