. Yama no Kami 山の神 Yamanokami - Introduction .
. Ta no Kami 田の神 Tanokami - Introduction .
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Yama no Kami 山の神 God of the Mountain
and Legends from Fukushima 福島県
. yama-inu, yamainu 山犬、豺 "mountain dog" wolf legends Fukushima .
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Akagi Myojin 赤城明神 Kami from Mount Akagisan
赤城大明神 Akagi Daimyojin
4 legends of its own
. 赤城と日光の戦い The fight of Akagi and Nikko .
the huge centipede from Akagi and the snake of Nikko.
. Akagi 赤城山の鬼と榛名山の鬼 Mount Akagi and mount Haruna Demon legends .
(tba)
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Bandai Myojin 磐梯明神 Kami from Mount Bandaisan
- source : Fukushima Furusato -
磐梯明神 Bandai Myojin shrine at the top of the mountain
. Tenaga Ashinaga 手長足長 "long arms, long legs" - monsters .
Once upon a time, there lived Tenaga and Ashinaga on Mount Bandaisan 磐梯山.
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Mount Bandai (磐梯山 Bandai-san) is a stratovolcano located in Inawashiro-town, Bandai-town, and Kitashiobara village, in Yama-Gun, Fukushima prefecture. It is an active stratovolcano located to the north of Lake Inawashiro. Mount Bandai, including the Bandai heights, belongs to the Bandai-Asahi National Park.
... Sacred Mountains
The Enichi Temple, located on the south-western foot of the Bandai Mountain, is surrounded by mountains where people come to worship; Mt. Bandai (north east to the temple), Mt. Mayadake (north to the temple), and Mt. Azuma (north to Mt. Bandai).
The temple has served a central role in mountain worship because of its location. The Enichi Temple was founded in 807 A.D., one year after Mt. Bandai erupted. Some people[who?] think that there is a connection between the eruption and the foundation of the Enichi Temple. Several routes for visiting Azumayama Shrine have been established, all originating from the main temple of the Enichi shrine.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
. Enichiji 慧日寺 / 恵日寺 Enichi-Ji .
磐梯町大字磐梯字本寺上4950
and priest Priest Tokuitsu 得一 徳溢
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. Kawakami Onsen 川上温泉 legend .
磐梯町 Bandai Town / 磐梯村 Baidaimura
. Bandai Atami no hariko 磐梯熱海の張り子 papermachee dolls .
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Oyamazumi Jinja 大山祇神社
Okuboko-1445-2 Nozawa, 西会津町 Nishiaizu-machi, Yama-gun, Fukushima
大山神社 Oyama Jinja
Once a farmer was late on his way back from Oyama Jinja and it begun to become dark. He almost lost his way. As he said prayers for divine help, it became all light in front of his eyes and an old man with a white beard showed him the way.
When he followed the path as the old man had told him, he found his way back home!
- Homepage of the Shrine Oyamazumi Jinja
- reference source : ooyamazumi.net ... -
Behind the shrine is a sacred cave. If a couple goes in there, Yamanokami becomes jealous and very angry.
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The 17th day of every month is a day to honor Yamanokami and people are now allowed to go into the mountain forests.
Yamanokami counts the trees and gets angry if disturbed.
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A tree with two or three very large branches is sacred to Yamanokami and may not be cut down.
If someone tries to cut it, he will find divine punishment.
If they need to be cut down, wood cutters have to make an offering of shinshu 神酒 ritual sake rice wine and ask Yamanokami permission to cut this tree.
- More legends about the
. shinboku 神木, shinju 神樹 sacred tree, divine tree .
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If a woman has difficulties giving birth, someone has to lead a horse to the mountain to invite Yamanokami for help. If the horse stops on the way up to the mountain, this means the female Yamanokami has climbed on the horse and is now ready to go down to help.
On the way back if the first person they meet is a man, the baby will be a boy.
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Once a hunter met a woman deep in the mountain forest.
The hunter sensed that this was Yamanokami, who wanted him to stop killing.
So he stopped killing the forest animals and all other animals.
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At the sanctuary for Yamanokami at 四倉浜志津 pregnant women can borrow a special
morokoshi-booki もろこしぼうき maize broom to help with an easy birth (to wipe the child out of her body).
After giving birth, she has to bring it back with special offerings.
. Brooms originated in Shinto Rituals .
Many legends and tales about the broom are related to giving birth.
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会津郡 Aizu district
Yamanokami is called
yoru no hime sama ヨルヒメサマ "princess of the night"
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福島市 Fukushima city
Yamanokami 山の神
An old man living in 屶振 Nataburi forgot to bring an offering to Yamanokami on the 17th day of the 10th lunar month. Next time when he wanted to go to the top of the mountain there came a wolf jumping at him and preventing him from going on. So he went down to a boulder in the valley and made his offering there, begging Yamanokami for forgiveness. This stone is there to our day.
Offering aburage アブラゲ fried tofu to Yamanokami makes him happy and the food is gone by next morning.
If someone experiences a calamity in the mountains, it is said to be the punishment of Yamanokami.
If there is a boulder having fallen down and making a road impassable, a prayer to Yamanokami will help to move the stone.
On the first day of the New Year and the 17th day of the second and tenth lunar month people are not allowed to go into the mountain forest. These are the days when the female Yamanokami comes down to the village. The 17th day of the second lunar month is the date for 山の神の祭日 the Yamanokami festival.
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. Yamanokami and Tengu 天狗 the Mountain Goblin legends .
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福島市 Fukushima city 飯坂町 Iizaka
While walking and working in the mountain forest, it is not allowed to sing or recite サンサしぐれ / さんさ時雨 the Sansa Shigure, a folk song from Miyagi, dating back to 1589 and the warlord 伊達政宗 Date Masamune.
One must also try not to cough.
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Yamanokami no tomari ki 山の神の止まり木
A tree with three trunks at the top of the mountain is sacred to Yamanokami and is never cut down. Yamanokami likes to sit and rest on this tree.
Once a man from 南郷村 Nango village tried to cut such a tree, but died as the tree fell heavily on him.
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石川郡 Ishikawa district 平田村 Hirata
Once a man wanted to make charcoal, but his ax fell down every time he tried to cut a tree. This was the doing of Yamanokami.
Another man begun to sing while making charcoal, but was told by Yamanokami to stop because he had made an error.
Yamanokami if fond of folk songs, so people should not sing while working in the forest.
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いわき市 Iwaki town
On the first day of the 10th lunar month, all the Kami take off to 出雲 Izumo to have a rest and celebrate. This is called
kantachibi カンタチビ in the local dialect.
In the Iwaki region however, Kamadogami 竈神 the Kami of the kitchen hearth and Ebisu 恵比寿神 stay back where they always are.
. kannazuki, kaminazuki 神無月 かんなづき "gods-absent month" .
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石城郡 Iwaki district / いわき市 / 田人村 / 田人町 Tabito village
If Yamanokami rides a horse, the poor animal will sweat very very much.
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nihon tsuno no aru hebi 二本角のある蛇 serpent with two horns
Just a few years ago, from under a rock in the shrine for Yamanokami there came a serpent with two horns.
This must be the messenger of Yamanokami! It was placed in alcohol and can be seen to our day.
ツノクサリヘビ / 角鎖蛇 Tsuno kusari hebi
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郡山市 Koriyama 湖南町 Konanmachi
Takaiharayama no kamisama 高井原山の神様
Once there was a war. The Kami from Takaiharayama came flying to help. But he bumped into the rock エボシ石 Eboshi Ishi and cut his habaki はばき leg protection and thus could not go.
So the villagers built the shrine 高井神社 Takai Jinja and made offerings to these leg protections.
Mount Takaiharayama / Takaibarayama, 981 (969) m high.
高井神社 Takai Jinja
Kōriyama-shi, Konanmachi Miyo, Teranomae / 福島県郡山市湖南町三代寺ノ前
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南会津郡 Minami-Aizu district
. juuniyamagami 十二山神 Juni Yamagami .
Juni Yamagami is seen as husband and wife.
In Hinoemata village, hunters have to make ablutions with cold water and say prayers to the 十二様 Juni-Sama deities every morning before leaving their mountain huts.
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南会津郡 Minami-Aizu district 檜枝岐村 Hinoemata
Yamanokami koo 山の神講 prayer group for Yamanokami
All the menfolk from 18 to about 30 years take part in this group. Twice a year in Spring and Autumn, they gather at the home of the village head, bring food offerings, hang a scroll of Yamanokami and burn lights until the next morning. They eat rice cakes and drink a lot of sake 酒 rice wine.
If there has been a misfortune in the village, they have to start all the rituals again
matsuri naoshi まつりなおし .
The hunterns and tree cutters have to go down to the village to take part in the new rituals. Sometimes they bring a head or breast bones of a bear as offerings. In that case the heart of the bear is shared as a special food treat with Yamanokami at his festival, matsuri no sakana 祭りの肴.
Sometimes the liver is also eaten as an offering.
The kidneys and breast meat is put on sticks, grilled and eaten. This is called
Yamanokami no shishi 山の神のしし.
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kijiya 木地屋 wood workers making tools and toya are called やまうど（山人）yamaudo, yama-udo "mountain people". They celebrate in their prayer group on the first day of the New Year and the tenth month, each time in a different home of the members. They also have a feast. In former times women were not allowed to join the groups, but recently they may come and help with the cooking and kitchen work.
Before going to work, day pray to Yamanokami, まつりたて Matsuritate.
They also make mochi 餅 rice cakes and grill them on sticks, putting miso paste on them to eat.
At the kariba 狩場 hunting place, hunters have to venerate Yamanokami on three days:
first day はつこば hatsu koba
third day みっかのさび mikka no sabi
seventh day 七日さび nanoka sabi
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ooshida no ki おおしだの木 huge Shida fern tree
Branches of this tree are cut and used as ritual wands for the festival of Yamanokami at the hunter's place.
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oo-oni 大鬼 huge Oni Demon
At a flat place named 五十人小屋場 "a hut for 50 people" in the mountain forest, hunters erected a hut. At night a strange monster with three nails begun to scratch at the hut. The leader of the hunters made ablutions in water and prayed to Yamanokami. Thus the monster left.
The next morning at the well there was a huge monster with a very large head, as huge as a large cooking pot.
The leader felt he had not enough power to cope with this, renounced to be leader and left for the valley. The others also voted to go down with him.
On the way down they met a mother with her child, trying to climb up. They asked her to stay away from the mountian, but she refused and went up, never to be seen again.
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サルマ Saruma and アラバ Araba
Once the ancestors of two hunter families, サルマ Saruma and アラバ Araba were in the mountains hunting bears when they witnessed the female Yamanokami giving birth.
The Araba hunters left the place soon and did not help.
The Saruma hunters made a ritual wand with the Sakaki tree branch to purify the place.
The Araba later ate the meat of the bear, but all died.
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. okoze 虎魚 / オコゼ stonefish offerings for Yamanokami .
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南会津郡 Minami-Aizu district 南郷村 Nango village
Yamanokami is seen as female.
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Once a mother went to a diviner, because her young son was very ill.
The shaman told her she should pray to the Yamanokami of mount 大宮鉱山 Omiya Kozan, which had been a mine, closed about 40 years ago.
The mother did as told and her son got well, could graduate from school and find a job.
- reference source : ja7fyg.sakura.ne.jp/kouzan... -
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相馬市 Soma town
. Hayama Jinja 葉山神社 Hayama Shrine .
shintaku 神託 oracles, divination / 黒沼神社 Kuronuma Jinja, Matsukawa, Kanezawa
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oonyuudoo 大入道 Onyudo monster
Oncxe an Onyudo monster sat high in an old Japanese oak acorn tree (nara 楢),
A farmer shot at it with a gun. At the first shot he had no hit. After a few more shots he also did not have the feeling of a hit.
He asked a hooin 法印 Buddhist priest for advise. He told him the Onyudo was maybe attracted by Yamanokami.
. Oonyuudoo 大入道 O-Nyudo Monster - Introduction .
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耶麻郡 Yama district 高郷村 Takasato mura
miko ミコ shrine maiden
Once in a family in 西羽賀 Nishi-Haga their child fell from the river bank and died.
They asked a shrine maiden for an oracle to find the reason why this happened.
Part of their farm land was a place where Yamanokami used to be venerated. Since they had not gone there to pray, this was his punishment.
Since then every year on the 19th day of the 9th lunar month, they go praying at this place.
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A hoo no ki 朴の木 Magnolia hypoleuca tree with three trunks is sacred to Yamanokami and is not to be cut down.
Other large Magnolia trees of this kind are also sacred to him, If they need to be cut down, wood cutters have to make an offering of shinshu 神酒 ritual rice wine and ask Yamanokami permission to cut this tree.
. shinboku 神木, shinju 神樹 sacred tree, divine tree .
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- reference source : nichibun yokai database -
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. Legends about Yamanokami 山の神と伝説 .
from Gifu 岐阜県 to 山梨県 Yamanashi - will be updated.
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. Yama no Kami 山の神 - Table of Contents - .
. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .
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sangaku shinkoo 山岳信仰 religion of the High Mountains is a different matter.
. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja 神社) - Introduction .
. kami 神 Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .
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