What's the difference between 天国 and 高天原?


I think the difference may be the heaven of other religions versus the heaven
of Shintou, but I'm not 100% on it either way. Am I right, or is there still
something I'm missing on this one?




Generally 天国 refers to the Christian heaven (while 地獄 can refer to both, the
Christian and Buddhism hell). Both words are frequently used in everyday
language (「天国だね」、「地獄行き」). 高天原 refers to the 神道 concept and is not really used
in everyday language.




Kind of, but there's controversy and we ourselves don't know what it exactly
is either. Since shinto myth is a mystified form of our ancestor's history,
it's probably a place in north Kyushu. It's of course not a place above the
sky where you go after death.

