Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculture-based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon alone consists of an uncountable number of kami (Japanese for "gods" or "spirits"). This article will discuss only the typical elements present in Oriental mythology such as cosmogony, important deities and the best-known Japanese stories. One notable result of Japanese mythology is that it explains the origin of the Imperial family, and assigned them godhood. The Japanese word for the Emperor of Japan, tennō (天皇), means "heavenly emperor".