Archaic term for a soul, spirit, or divine spirit. In modern Japanese, this meaning is mostly preserved in compounds or classical contexts.
In classical language, there are examples where 神 is read as mi.
In old poems, 神 is sometimes read as み.
goddess
god of death; death deity; Grim Reaper
portable shrine; mikoshi · palanquin; litter · lower back; waist; hips
guardian deity; tutelary god
god of poverty
tutelary deity; guardian god; local Shinto deity
living god; god incarnate; emperor (as a deity) · miracle-working god; god who appears as needed
powerful deity; miraculous spirit
god of winds
male god; male deity
mikoshi; portable Shinto shrine · lower back; waist; hips
god of fortune; god of wealth
sacred sake; sacred wine; sake offered to the gods · sake (humorous)
great god; deity
god of pestilence; deity of infectious disease · jinx; hoodoo; pest; odious person; plague; angel of death
thunder; thunder god
Greek mythology
man-god; person enshrined as a god
patron god; deified ancestor
earth god; earth deity
paper doll for good weather prayers
goddess; female deity
city god; guardian deity of a city and its marketplace
Standard kanji spelling for this archaic noun.
Alternate kanji spelling, also archaic.
The historical derivation is uncertain; み is an ancient native Japanese word for spirit or divine essence, later largely replaced by かみ.