Yamanokami juunisama

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. Yama no Kami 山の神 - Introduction .
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Yama no Kami 山の神 God of the Mountain
and juunisama, jūni sama 十二様 Juni Sama
"Honorable 12" deities,
another name for this male / female mountain deity
In some regions, Juni Sama is seen as two deities, husband and wife.

His / her messengers are Okoze, the stonefish and Okojo, a kind of weasel.

. Tanokami 田の神 and legends about
okoze 虎魚 / 鰧魚 / オコゼ stonefish and オコジョ Okojo weasel.
with legends from Gunma and Nagano.



hondo okojo ホンドオコジョ Mustela erminea nippon

The name of this deity varies from region to region,
十二山の神 Juni Yamanokami, 十二山神 Juni Yamagami . . .
Shrines in his / her honour are called 十二神社 Juni Jinja, 十二大明神 Juni Daimyojin,
大山祇十二神社 Oyamazumi no Mikoto Juni Jinja . . .
These deities are often venerated at 12 stone memorials or in 12 small shrines.



The explanations of the name are various too, some from a Shinto and others from a Buddhist background as a group of 12 honorable deities :

1 - A deity giving birth to 12 children in one year (one for every month)
2 - A deity that has given birth and raised 12 children.

3 - A place where 12柱の神 12 deities are venerated.

4 - . 12 incarnations of Amida Nyorai - 十二光仏 / 十二光佛 Juni Kobutsu .

5 - . 12 zodiac animals 十二支 Juni Shi .

6 - . 12 Kumano Junisha Gongen Avatars from Kumano 熊野十二所権現 .

7 - . 12 Ten Deities, 12 Devas 十二天 Juni Ten, Jūniten .

8 - . 12 Heavenly Generals 十二神将 Juni Shinsho .
12 Warrior Generals . 12 Divine Generals of Yakushi Buddha
Each of them represents one heavenly direction, one of the twelve hours of the day and one of the twelve months of a year.


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heisoku 幣束（へいそく） ritual paper wand
Yamanokami venerated as Juni Sama has given birth to 12 children in one year.
He is venerated as a mountain deity that brings 山の豊穣 a rich mountain harvest.


source : kan*an1*57

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熊野十二社　（くまのじゅうにそう) Edo Kumano Juniso
Kumano Juniso Gongen no Yashiro Shrine
Kumano no Yashiro, Juniso Gongen no Yashiro



This began during the Oei Era (1349-1427), when a man called Suzuki Kuro came from Kishu and he enshrined deities the Juniso of his hometown Kumano. The name of the surrounding area is called Juniso.
The Juniso Pond which was located at the west side of Kumano-jinja Shrine, was used as a reservoir for the town of Tsunowazu, and there is a legend that a woman drowned herself and became a giant serpent. There was a waterfall on the eastern side and it was popular as a scenic spot.
- source : national diet library -

. Twelve Shrines at Tsunohazu in Yotsuya .
Yotsuya Tsunohazu Jûnisô ike Kumano yashiro


. 12 Kumano Junisha Gongen Avatars from Kumano 熊野十二所権現 .


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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


.......................................................................　Fukushima 福島県 .....
南会津郡 Minami-Aizu

十二山神 Juni Yamagami
Juni Yamagami is seen as husband and wife. Near the hamlet is the shrine 山神神社 Yamagami Jinja.
It houses two statues, a husband and wife.


toorigami 通り神 Kami passing by
Once a woman felt very ill and had an itinerant shaman look at her problem.
He told her she had peed on a spot where Juni Sama uses to pass by. He performed ablutions and soon the woman was healed.

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Minami-Aizu 檜枝岐村 Hinoemata

山の神 Yamanokami and 十二大明神 Juni Daimyoji
At the hut for the hunters it is customary to take water ablutions every morning before entering the forest and pray to Juni Sama.
He is also called 十二大明神 Juni Daimyojin or 大山祇命 Oyamazumi no Mikoto.

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fuchikari 貂 / フチカリ，heko ヘコ weasel, marten
If someone dies in the mountains, his soul can be transferred to a weasel.
At the foot of the mountain, Juni Sama and Fuchikari are venerated every morning and evening.
Fuchikari gets special food offerings.




.......................................................................　Gunma 群馬県 .....
There are quite a few legends about Juni Sama in Gunma.

Komochiyama 子持山 Mount Komochi "having children" 1296 m
渋川市 Shibukawa town



- Long Japanese explanation is here
- reference source : 偏平足 -

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Gunma 吾妻郡 Azuma district

hitotsu manako ヒトツマナコ "one eye"
Juni Sama is a female deity who gave birth to 12 children in one year, one in every month.
This is most probably the same as the deity called Hitotsu Manako, who comed to the village on the 30th day of the 11th lunar month.

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Gunma 吾妻郡 Azuma district 六合村 Kunimura

Okojo オコジョ weasel
Dried Okoze fish is called okojo オコジョ. If it is offered to Juni Sama, the Weasel, there will be a good hunting season.
But the offerings have to be made in the correct way. If they are placed with both hands, the hands might disappear with the offering.
The Weasel often stays with one family and watches over their well-being.

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Gunma 倉渕村 Kurabuchi

yamainusama 山犬様 Yama-Inu Wolf Deity
Once upon a time, the Wolf Deity had given birth in the shrine of Juni Sama. People then brought special rice offerings to celebrate.

. Yamanokami messenger, the inugami 犬神 Wolf Deity .


O-Tengu sama お天狗様
On the night of the tenth people prepare special mochi餅 ritual rice cakes and make offerings to the small shrines of 八幡様 Hachiman Sama, 十二様 Juni Sama, 道陸神 Dosojin, the Wayside Deities and O-Tengu sama, the local Tengu.
The Mochi for the Tengu are especially long and narrow, called
O-Tengu Sama no Obi お天狗様の帯 Belt of the Tengu.
They are placed on the roof of the small sanctuary, cut in 108 small stripes.
Other offerings are long radish and chrysanthemums.
In some regions, people take the Mochi home after making an offering and eat them.
In 三ノ倉 Sannokura they are called Tengu no Sawa Mochi 天狗のサワ餅. People either place them on the sanctuary and leave or they take home an offering that had been made by a person before them.
This is called Tengu Sama no Omigoku 天狗様のオミゴク　Offering for the Tengu.

. tookanya 十日夜 night of the tenth .
tenth day of the tenth lunar month, with special rituals

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Gunma 沼田市 Numata city 利根町 Tone village

In Tone they make offerings to Juni Sama, because in former times a goze 瞽女 blind itinerant woman had been killed there and cursed the region.

. goze 女盲, ごぜ, ゴゼ, 瞽女 blind woman .

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Gunma 利根郡 Tone district 片品村 Katashina

inukuguri イヌクグリ plant, Veronica polita, Grey Field-speedwell
inu kuguri 犬潜り - "a dog walks through it"
This is a plant / tree, which is not allowed to be cut down in the mountain forest. It has two stems and the branches become one as it grows. Yamainu ヤマイヌ the Mountain Dog, messenger of Juni Sama, walks through this.


Tengu sama 天狗様
Trees with two-pronged roots sticking out on a mountain road or at a swamp are sacred to Juni Sama.
Tengu also like to rest on them. So they are not to be cut down.


Juunisama no shimeharigi 十二様のシメハリギ Sacred tree of Juni Sama
The 注連縄 ritual Shimenawa rope is fastened around this tree, which is sacred to Juni Sama (Yamanokami) and thus not te be cut down.
If someone cuts it, he will be crushed by 十二様の鳥居 the torii Gate of the Shrine for Juni Sama.

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Gunma 碓氷郡 Usui district 松井田町 Matsuida

In this region on the border to 上越国 Joetsu, Yamanokami is called "Juni Sama".





.......................................................................　Kanagawa 神奈川県 .....
藤野町 Fujino

The ubugami 産神 deity of birth is called Juns Sama in the hamlet of 藤野町名倉 Nagura in Fujino.

. ubugami 産神 "deity of birth" .
guardian deity of pregnant women, newborn babies and one's birthplace

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Kanagawa 鎌倉　Kamakura　十二所 Juniso

Juniso Jinja　十二所神社
This shrine is located up in the mountain, at the foot of Asahina pass.



- quote -
Beyond a stone shrine gate, of a myojin-style torii (明神鳥居), lies the main building directly ahead. To the right of the main hall are three small shrines: Yamano Jinja (山の神社), Hoso Jinja (疱瘡神社) and Usa Hachiman Jinja (宇佐八幡神社).
A large, heavy-looking stone to the right of the torii is called Hyakukan-ishi (百貫石, or Hyakkan-ishi). The stone, long neglected, weighs roughly 110 kilograms and was once a popular object of weightlifting at shrine festivals. Further to the right stands Kaguraden Hall (神楽殿), for sacred music and dances.
... Early in the Meiji period (1867-1912), under a government policy of separating Shintoism and Buddhism, the shrine was moved from the grounds of Kosokuji Temple (光則寺) in the neighborhood to its present site and dedicated to
seven deities in Heaven and five deities presiding on Earth.
At the same time, the name was changed to Juniso Jinja Shrine　from
Kumano Juniso Gongensha (熊野十二所権現社).
- source : kcn-net . org - Juniso Jinja　十二所神社 -




.......................................................................　Niigata 新潟県 .....

. juunikko ジュウニッコウ（十二講) Junikko .
prayer groups

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中魚沼郡 Naka-Uonuma district 川西町 Kawanishi

Juni Sama is a male mountain deity who protects women giving birth. He also helps with a good harvest.
The 12th day of the second lunar month is dedicated to this deity, when he leaves the mountains to go to the fields as Tanokami.
He comes back in Autumn after the harvest.

Yamanokami 山の神
Wheat bran (karako, カラコ, 麩) is offered to Yamanokami and then given to children to help them grow up healthy. JuniSama descends to the fields in spring and comes back after the harvest.

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長岡市 Nagaoka 成願寺町 Joganji

山の神 Yamanokami and 十二神社 Juni Jinja
Once the deity of 十二神社 the Shrine Juni Jinja, Yamanokami, fell down in a field of garlic and lost one leg,
looked at the ears of wheat and lost one eye.
So he is now known as 片目片足の神様 the Deity with one Eye and one Leg.
Since then it is forbidden in the village to eat ニンニク garlic or 麦 wheat.
Children born in the village of Joganji are often born with one eye much smaller than the other.




.......................................................................　Yamagata 山形県 .....

Yamagami Jinja to fuufu katsura 山神神社の夫婦カツラ
and the "Husband-and-Wife Katsura tree
katsura 桂 Japanese Judas tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum



The trees are about 26 m high.
In 新庄市北部 the North of Shinjo is 不動山 Mount Fudoyama (546 m). At the entrance of the shrine are two large Katsura trees.
These two 門カツラ Katsura trees at the gate keep any Oni demons from entering the compound.

- 山形県新庄市萩野土内 Tsuchiuchi Hagino, Shinjō-shi
- reference source : hitozato-kyoboku.com/yamagamijinja... -




.......................................................................　Yamanashi 山梨県 .....
北都留郡 Kita-Tsuru district

. 十二天様 Juni Ten Sama，十二天神 Juni Tenjin .



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- reference source : nichibun yokai database -
- reference : 十二様 -
tba

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. Yama no Kami 山の神 - Table of Contents - .

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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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