I just created a sort of "neighborhood protector" shaman. Basically, he's an Oni who's taken it upon himself to protect a certain apartment building in some Seattle Barrens hellhole from being victimized by the local gangs.

I decided to make him Shinto and a shaman, to keep his Japanese heritage consistant with his metatype (and because I just liked the idea of a magic-user being this character). The idol I chose for him to follow is Dragonslayer (with the whole "protect your own" thing).

Now my question: which Shinto kami would go well with his idol? I don't know a whole lot about Shintoism, so I need some help on this.

I'd go for Osano-Wo (Susanoo). He killed an eight headed serpent (a hydra wyrm?) and got a magic sword out of the deal.

Reiko, too, but he killed a bunch of spider-demon types and is really more of a Hercules, not a kami.

Maybe I should clarify. I'm not looking for kami that literally slew dragons in legends, I mean I'm looking for the kami that were known as fierce protectors, like the Dragonslayer idol is supposed to be.

I think Susano is probably your best bet. However, Hachiman, the war god, or one of the Shi Tenno (Jikoku, Komoku, Tamon, and Zocho), the four guardians that protect Japan from the demon world, could work. I'd prefer Susano out of those choices.

I think they mention the "Dragonslayer" kami in Dragons of the Sixth World under the Ryumyo section. But I don't have it on me.

This all depends on if you're looking for something actually thematically appropriate for the character, or something that under a WESTERN perspective would be appropriate.

Osano-Wo is a wonderful kami for it if you're operating from a western perspective of storms=strong=good magician!

However, thematically? Total crap. Susanoo, in any of his forms, is a trickster; he's very similar to Loki in that regard. He's not like Coyote, who's generally got funny stories told about him. Susanoo's tricks *hurt*, and he doesn't care. He also doesn't care one whit about protecting anything but himself. Now, granted, he did kill a couple of nasty things, but he got Kusanagi and killed the dragon (according to the text) to show up Amaterasu, not to be a good guy.

Hachiman (Daibosatsu) is the strongest resemblance to 'neighborhood protector', but only if you regard 'neighborhood' as 'Japan.' Hachiman's real interest is in protecting the people of Japan - mind you, the PEOPLE, not the political or corporate entity - and is one nasty-ass SoB, according to legend, if you torque him.

Bishamon, while he has never officially been recognized as a Kami (there's so much bleed-over between shinto and buddhist scripture it's really hard to tell a lot of the time) might be a good choice. He's one of the Seven Lucky Gods / Seven Fortunes, specifically the fortune of strength and success in battles or contests. He's the Japanese adaptation of Rama, actually. No joke.

My personal bet? Go with Hachiman, or
Fudo-Myoo. Fudo-Myoo is a servitor of Dainichi Nyorai, and is technically a buddhist diety. However, like 99% of all buddhist dieties in japan, he has a Kami form as well, called Achara/Acara (it's written in a special character set called 'Siddham'). He's the servitor of Mahavairocana that directly thugs on evil things and triumphs over adversity.

Besides, he's a flaming warrior, and that's pretty keen.