Arahitogami

"[1] In 1946, at the request of the GHQ, the Shōwa Emperor (Hirohito) proclaimed in the Humanity Declaration that he had never been an akitsumikami (現御神), divinity in human form, and claimed his relation to the people did not rely on such a mythological idea but on a historically developed family-like reliance.

In Shinto it is somewhat common for a person to be revered as a god, especially after they died, examples include Sugawara no Michizane and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

In contrast, the hitogami belief system emphasizes personal faith as the basis for membership in the circle of believers.

[2] The practice of deifying humans after death is a way to put to rest the legacy of those who have died with a grudge.

Examples of the former include toya (head priests), miko (shrine maidens), and masquerading deities in the rituals of the miya-za.

[5][4] Akitsumikami is often translated as "divine" or "divinity", but some Western scholars (including John W. Dower and Herbert P. Bix) explained that its real meaning is "manifest kami" (or, more generally, "incarnation of a god"), and that therefore the emperor would still be, according to the declaration, an arahitogami ("living god"), although not an akitsumikami ("manifest kami").