These days, how likely are Shinto gods to understand English (and other foreign languages)?

Are there some gods that definitely would have bothered to learn English, and some that definitely wouldn't have?

>>43310897 (OP)

Depends on if they are "physical" being or not. If they are physical then there may be some kind of language barrier but if they are truly divine then one interpretation is that their method of communication transcends language and they can comprehend what if being said in the language of the soul and likewise, what they are saying to you would seem as though it is in the tongue you are most familiar with.



That's my schizo theory about communication with the divine at least.

That's C-C-C-C-C-CRAZZYYYYYY ANON! Wow you are NUTS HAHAHAHHAHA OH WOW SEE A DOCTOR HAHAHAHHA C-C-C-CRAZY WOW

>>43310897 (OP)

I read a book by an anthropologist that spent a year at Fushimi Inari Taisha called the Fox and the Jewel a few years ago. This issue came up, and one priests told her that since the kami are Japanese gods, they only understand prayers said in Japanese, but another told her that the kami would understand any prayers said with a sincere heart, no matter what language they're spoken in. So it seems that this issue is up to interpretation. 

In the past, before Buddhism and Shinto were separated at the start of the Meiji period, it was common for Buddhist texts and Sanskrit mantras to be used in Shinto rites.

That word has no meaning anymore with how casually people throw it around.

Is it what happens when you put every child you can find on some form of psychoactive drug for absolutely every "symptom" that is conceivable.

It seems overly restrictive to think that they'd only know Japanese, when many ordinary and prominent Japanese figures have learned foreign languages throughout history. Knowing at least how to read Chinese would have practically been a requirement at court for many centuries.

Not to mention that some of these gods are old enough to have seen modern Japanese emerge from its various dialects.

Also, thanks for the book recommendation.

>>43310897 (OP)

>The kami enshrined in the Hawaii Daijingu Temple are many; [...] , the national father George Washington, the nation’s restorer Abraham Lincoln and other men and women of distinguished services, 



https://daijingutemple.org/home/about/

This is both cool and funny. Thanks.

Would be funny if they still spoke in an antiquated form of Japanese that is as incomprehensible to the average Japanese person today as old English would be to us.

Kami are pretty free-form and change all the time in response to the world around them. It wouldn't be surprising for them to adapt to learn foreign language. It isn't as though kami are the same as we see gods in the west. Some are like that, but many are not.

It could also be something along the lines of a sense that humans don't have to understand the wants/needs expressed in prayer or just that they understand that someone is respectfully praying and giving their blessing. That wouldn't be hard for a being that expects to be revered.
