1.
myriad, eight million, innumerable
An extremely large, uncountable number. Most famously used in the Shinto concept of 八百万の神 (eight million gods / myriad deities), expressing the belief that divine spirits reside in all things.
Common collocations
Usage
Almost exclusively used in the expression 八百万の神, a core concept in Shinto. The number "eight million" is not literal but represents an inconceivably large number — the idea that gods and spirits inhabit everything in the natural world: mountains, rivers, trees, rocks, and even everyday objects. This concept is foundational to Japanese animism and is often cited to explain Japan's polytheistic religious worldview. The reading やおよろず is an old Japanese number reading (八百 = 800, 万 = 10,000).