sacred mountain or forest where a deity resides
A Shinto term for a mountain or forest believed to be inhabited by a kami. Often appears in classical poetry and shrine contexts. The reading かんなび is most common; かむなび and かみなび are older or poetic variants.
An old shrine sits quietly on the sacred mountain.
Many poems in the Man'yōshū sing of sacred mountains.
Refers specifically to a shrine's guardian forest, while 神奈備 is a broader concept of a mountain or forest as a divine dwelling.
A mountain worshipped as the physical body of a deity; 神奈備 emphasizes the place where a kami resides rather than the mountain itself being the deity.
Standard kanji spelling for this Shinto term.
Variant kanji spelling; less common than 神奈備.
The exact derivation is uncertain. The reading かんなび may be a contraction of かむなび, itself possibly from 神 (kami) + なび (an old word for 'to hide' or 'to dwell'). The kanji 神奈備 and 神南備 are ateji.