Musubi

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Musubi (Jap., from musu, ‘to produce’, + bi, ‘spiritual power’). The mysterious power and source of creativity producing all things in the universe. The word appears originally in the ‘Age of Gods’ section of the Nihongi (720). But it is also found in other early works, such as the Kojiki and Kogoshūi, as part of the names of the creative gods (kami); for example, Takamimusubi no kami and Kamimusubi no kami. In the Shinto revival of the 18th cent., Motoori Norinaga and other scholars of national learning (kokugaku) emphasized the uniquely Japanese character of the idea.