The worship of these demigods or Kami is called Kami-no-mitsi, or " the way of the Kami." It pos- sesses some features which are found in the religious observances of no other race. There are chapels dedi- cated to the several Kamis in all parts of the empire, but they are most numerous and celebrated in the .south- ern islands. " These chapels are called mias. They are always built in the most picturesque localities, and es- pecially where there is a grove of high trees. Some- times a splendid avenue of pines or cedars conducts to the sacred place, which is always approached tlirough one or more detached portals, called toris, like the jiylse of the Egyptian temples. The chapel is usually set upon a hill, natural or artificial, buttressed with Cyclo- pean walls, and with a massive stone stairway leading to the top. At the foot of the stairs there is a small building containing a tank of water for ablutions. The chapel itsellis usually small, and very simple in its plan.
KAIVOION
10
KANAH
much resembling the native dwelling -house. Three sides are closed, and one is open to sun and air. The woodwork is kcjit scrupulously clean, and the floor is covered with the finest matting. The altar, which stands alone in the centre, is ornamented with a jjlain disk of metal, but no statues or sj'mbolical figures are to be seen, and very rarely emblems of any kinil. Never- theless, there are sometimes stationed at the head of the staircase, outside of the chapel, sitting figures resembling dogs ancl unicorns, which are said to represent the elc- ' ments of water and fire. The interior is generally hung with strijis or ribbons of colored paper, the exact signif- icance of which is not yet clearly understood. The chapels are also ornamented by their pious votaries with colored lanterns, vases of perfume, and of fiowers or ever- green branches, which are renewed as fast as they witli- er. At the foot of the altar there is a hea\'y chest with a metal grating, through which fall the pieces of money contributed : it is hardly necessary to say that the priest carries a key to the box. These mias were originallj^ commemorative chapels, erected in honor of Jajianese heroes, like that of Tell by the lake of the Four Forest Cantons. The prince of the province which had given birth to the hero, or where his deeds had been perform- ed, took upon himself the charge of keeping the chapel in repair ; there was no priest to officiate at the altar of the kami; no privileged caste interposed between the adorer and the object of his worship. The act of ado- ration, in fact, performed before the mirror (represent- ing that bequeathed by' the goddess Izanami to her chil- dren\ passed beyond the guardian spirit of the chapel, and reached the supreme god above him. The chapel, therefore, was open to all ; the worship was voluntary, and offered as the intUvidual might choose, no ceremo- nial being prescribed. With the introduction of Buddh- ism, however, an important change took place. The new faith was sufficiently incorporated with the old to transfer the chapels to the special charge of the priests [called Kami-nusi, or 'ministers of the spirits'], and to introduce, in place of the voluntary, formless worship of the people, a system of processions, litanies, offerings, and even of miracle-working images. Indeed, almost the only difference between this system and the worship of the saints in Catholic countries lies in the circum- stance tliat the priests who officiate only put on their surplices for the occasion, and become secular again when they leave the chapel" (Bayard Taylor's Japan, p. 255 sq., in the excellent collection of Scribner's Librurij of Wonders, Ti-avels, etc., N. Y., 1872, 12mo). Compare Humbert, Sojourn in Japan, transl. in Ladies' Reposito- ry, JNIarch, 1870, p. 184 sq. ; Macfarlane, Japan (London, 1852, 8vo), p. 204 sq.; Siebold, Nippon, i, 3 sq.; ii, 51 ; K-impfer, Japan, in Pinkerton, vii, 672 sq. ; Tylor, Prim- itive Culture (London, 1871, 2 vols. 8vo), vol. ii (see Li- dex). (J.H.W.)
Kammon. ■ See Cummin.
Kanipanton, Lsaac ben-Jacob, a Jewish rabbi of some note, was born in Castile in 13(50. Of his personal history but little is known. He was gaon of Castile, and is particularly looted for his contributions to Tal- mudical literature, and his influence, through his pupils, on Jewish Utcrature of the 15th century in the Sjianish pcninsida. lie died at Penjafiel in 14G3. One of his most important works is 'll^pnn "^w"!" {Ways of the Talmud, first published atlSIantua in 1590), an introduc- tion to the study of the Talmud (really a methodology). See Griitz, Gesch. d. Jttden, viii, 152 ; Jost, Gesch. d. Ju- dentliiims,ui,87; Yiirst, Biblioth.Jud. \,U0. (.LILW.)
Kamsin. See Simoom.
Kamtchatka, a peninsula in the extreme north- east of Asia, occupied by the Kussians from lODG to 1706, extends Ijetween the seas of Kamtchatka and Ochotzk, fipm latitude 51° to 61° N., and contains 20,800 square miles, and about 4500 inhaliitants, one third of whom arc Kussians. The fimner principal place, Nish- nei Kamtschatk, on the mouth of the Kamtchatka
River, has hardly 200 inhabitants. Petropaulovsk, the present capital, is the seat of a Kusso-American trading company, and has a population of about 1000. Until 185G Kamtchatka was a separate district ; at present it constitutes the district Petropaulovsk, of the coast dis- trict of Eastern Siberia. The Kamtchadales inhabit, besides Kamtchatka, also a part of the Kurilc Islands. They belong to the IMongolian race, are small, have thick heads, and flat, broad faces, and small e)'es, which are fre- quently inflamed by the snow. Though baptized, the Kamtchadales are still addicted to Shamanism (q. v.), and, in particular, practice sorcery. They are fund of hunting and fishing, good-natured, and hospitable. (A. J. S.)