天津神

Japanese

Kanji in this term
天	津	神
あま Grade: 1	つ Grade: S (ateji)	かみ Grade: 3
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
(kyūjitai) 天つ神天神

Etymology

天(あま) (ama, “heaven”) + つ (tsu, possessive particle (archaic)) + 神(かみ) (kami, “god”). The use of 津 for tsu is an example of ateji (当て字).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a̠ma̠t͡sɨka̠mʲi]

Noun

天(あま)津(つ)神(かみ) • (ama tsu kami)

(Shinto) the gods of the heavens
Synonym: 天神 (tenjin)

Antonyms: 国津神 (kuni tsu kami), 地神 (jigami)

Coordinate terms

国津神 (くにつかみ, kuni tsu kami): the Japanese gods of the earth
天神地祇 (てんじんちぎ, tenjin chigi): all the gods of heaven and earth

References

Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN