Saruhachi Bonno deity

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. 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 申八梵王 / さるはちぼんのう Saruhachi Bonno Monkey deity






At the temple Jikooji 都幾山慈光寺 Jiko-Ji
埼玉県比企郡ときがわ町西平386 / 386 Nishidaira, Tokigawa-machi, Hiki-gun, Saitama

This temple is Nr. 9 on the pilgrimage to 33 Kannon Temples in Bando (the Kanto region)
. Bando 33 坂東三十三観音札所 Nr. 9 .

The messenger of the deity Sanno Gongen 山王権現 is a monkey, and the animal is sometimes seen as a deity itself, protecting people from harm and bringing good health to the children.

The monkey is also the messenger of 山の神 Yamanokami.
The whole mountain around the temple Jiko-Ji is seen as the territory of Yamanokami, and the monkey is free to roam the fields and forests.
The local people call the monkey Saruhachi Buddhist King and protect it.

The monkey on the stone relief is clad like the dancing monkey of Sanbaso.
The stone dates back to 1786.

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. Sanno Gongen 山王権現 and the Monkey .
Sarutahiko deity 猿田彦, 猿田彦神 - Sarugami 猿神 Monkey Deity

. Hiyoshi Taisha 日吉大社 Great Hiyoshi Shrine .
and the deity Sanno, the "Mountain King"

. sanba sarugaku 三番猿楽, 三番叟 Sanbaso, Sambaso dance .
Sanbaso is an auspicious dance, often performed during the New Year season.



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- - - - - Yamanokami has some animal messengers :

. Sarugami 猿神 The Monkey Deity .

. yamainu 山犬 wolf - "mountain dog" .

. inoshishi 猪 wild boar .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

Legends about Yamanokami and Sarugami 猿神 The Monkey Deity
Sarugami was known in various provinces, for example in 備前 Bizen and 備後 Bingo in Okayama.


Sarugami taiji 猿神退治 driving out the Sarugami - folktale
About the human sacrifice of a young girl
At the house where a white arrow was stuck, a girl had to be given as human sacrifice for Sarugami.
Then a 山伏 Yamabushi mountain priest came and tried to help. At 丑三つ時 a ghostly hour a monster came wandering from behind the Shrine and begun dancing around the carriage with the girl. When he tried to open the box, the Yamabushi let his dog run and kill the monster.
In the morning they came and had a good look at it - it was an old monkey.


- reference source : manga nihon mukashibanashi -


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.......................................................................... Ehime 愛媛県

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上浮穴郡 久万高原町

Sarugami 猿神 Monkey Deity
Nue 鵺，Sarugami 猿神，hebigami (jashin) 蛇神，Inugami 犬神
The mother of Minamoto no Yorimasa (源頼政) (1106 – 1180) was severely ill.
源頼政の母の病が重かった頃、頭は猿、尾は蛇に似た鵺という怪獣が京都の紫宸殿に現れ、頼政が退治を命じられた。仁平3年4月7日、頼政は母から贈られた矢で鵺を射落とした。その夜、母は他界したが、鵺は現れなくなったという。退治された鵺は斬られて摂津の川尻へ流されたが、四国に流れ着いて祟りをなしたとか、頭は讃岐に着き猿神に、尾は伊予で蛇神に、手足は土佐、阿波に着いて犬神になったともいわれる。
- 頭が猿、足が犬で尾が蛇である怪獣を切ったところ、各部分が別のところに着き、蛇神・猿神。犬神となった。その後狐つき等も入ってきた。蛇神の憑く家系があったが蛇の嫌いなものを撒くと、帰るといって離れていく。

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今治市 Imabara 玉川町 Tamagawa

Sarugami Sama 猿神様
猿神様は竜岡下鍛冶屋部落にある。昔、村人が身ごもった猿を撃とうとしたところ、猿が両手を合わせて拝むようにして救いを求めたが、村人は猿を撃ち殺した。やがて部落内に様々な災いがあったので、宮を建てて猿神様として祀ることになったという。

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Sarugami Jinja 猿神神社 Sarugami Shrine
愛媛県大洲市豊茂 / Toyoshige, Ozu, Ehime
Deity in residence : 猿田彦神 Sarutahiko



.......................................................................... Gifu 岐阜県

Sarugami 猿神 Monkey Deity
An itinerant priest had come from the province of the other side of the waterfall. The villagers were quite happy to have him and gave him a young girl as a wife.
This priest even tried to make the girl a human sacrifice for Sarugami, the local Yamanokami.

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大野郡 Ono district 荘川村 Shokawa

Sarugami taiji 猿神退治 Getting rid of Sarugami
On the evening before the Shrine Festival, villagers had to offer a girl to 大猿 the Great Monkey. A monk came and tried to change the events by making the Great Monkey a living sacrifice.
But the Monkey cried terribly in great fear and eventually the monk took pity and let him run in to the mountain.





.......................................................................... Iwate 岩手県

Yamanokami is seen as a monkey or as a woman.
Yamanokami of the 道地 Dochi region is called テングサン Tengu san.




.......................................................................... Kochi 高知県

Yamanokami 山の神
In the 土佐郡 Tosa district, 杣 forest workers have to observe certain taboos before entering the forest.
They must not use 不浄の火 improper fire. They should not use the words hari 針 needle, neko 猫 cat, saru 猿 monkey, or boozu 坊主 priest.
They also do not build a group of seven people.

. shichinin misaki 七人ミサキ "Misaki of seven people" .
who died together in an accident




................................................................... Kumamoto 熊本県

. 木葉猿 Konoha Saru 木の葉猿 monkey from Konoha village .





.......................................................................... Miyagi 宮城県

Takebera Taro 竹箆太郎 The Brave Dog Shippetaro
The story of a human sacrifice.
. Shippeitaro 竹箆太郎 / しっぺい太郎 - 早太郎 Hayataro, the spiritual dog .

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伊具郡 Igu district 丸森町 Marumori

Sanno Iwaya 山王岩屋，Sarutobi 猿跳 Monkeys Jumping
Near the smalles part of the gorge of river Abukuma there are two huge rocks facing each other.
The Deity from 霊山 Mount Ryozen was known as 山王権現 Sanno Gongen and his messenger, the monkey, could jump from one rock to the other, Sarutobi.
The warrior 安倍貞任 Abe no Sadato defended this area.

. 安倍貞任 Abe no Sadato (1019 – 1062) .
and Sakanoue no Tamuramaro 坂上田村麻呂 . (758 - 811)



Sanno Iwaya densetsu 山王窟伝説 Sanno rock at 骨寺村 Honedera mura "bone temple village".
and the legend of 山王の鬼 Sanno no Oni, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro 坂上田村麻呂 . (758 - 811)
source : hiraizumi-yukari.com...


- quote -
骨寺村 Honederamura Shoen Iseki

The map is drawn on four pieces of paper joined together, with the top of the map pointing west; the entire village is depicted. The boundaries of the village---Kagikake in the east, Sanno no Iwaya in the west, the Iwai River in the south, and the ridgeline from Mitakeato to Masaka Shindo in the north---are represented with bold lines.
..... Regarding the religious activities of the village, the Sanno no Iwaya in the west gives a strong impression that the village as a whole was formed as a foothold for the Sanno faith of the Tendai Sect; other religious elements are the Honedera Site and Monks’ Quarter Site on the western plateau, indicated with marks representing pillar sites. .....
- - Comparison with the Landscape Today
..... Sanno no Iwaya, drawn just below and more clearly than Komagatane on the Illustrated Map of Households, is on the western boundary of the village. To the east of it, the words “Honedera Temple Site” and “Monks’ Quarter Site” are marked with figures that appear to be pillar sites. On the Illustrated Map of Shrines and Temples “Hakusan” and “Terasaki” are written on a plateau slightly higher than the rice paddies in the western part of the village. "Rokusho no Miya" on the Illustrated Map of Households is drawn slightly apart from them, in the northern part of the plateau. Hakusan Shrine still remains in the same spot as the map, but Honedera Temple, for which the village was named, was already lost in the Kamakura period, and its site, including Monks’ Quarter, is yet to be found. .....
- source : city.ichinoseki.iwate.jp -



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栗原市 Kurihara City

Yamanokami 山の神
Yamanokami does not like the love song サンサシグレ "sansa shigure" , which is song for various rituals.
Forest workers are not allowed to hum the melody while working.
Hunters are not allowed to use the word MONKEY while they are in the moutains.




.......................................................................... Nagano 長野県
東筑摩郡 Higashi-Chikuma district 四賀村 Shiga mura

Tengu 天狗
Wolves, monkeys and wild boars are the messengers of Yamanokami.
Yamanokami is quite wild and the Tengu maybe an incarnation.




.......................................................................... Niigata 新潟県
中頚城郡 Naka-Kubiki district 吉川町 Yokawa

山の神，猿，犬 Yamanokami, monkey and dog
The 9th day of the second and 12th lunar month are set for rituals of Yamanokami.
If people go to the mountain forest and see a monkey running around riding on a dog, they are doomed to die.




.......................................................................... Saitama 埼玉県
入間郡 Iruma district 毛呂山町 Moroyama

Since the monkey is Yamanokami, people are not allowed to do forest work on 申の日 the days of the monkey.
If they do, they will have a lot of problems.




................................................................ Tokushima 徳島県

Sarugami 猿神
Once upon a time
a strange Yokai monster (the Nue) was flying in the sky. A brave samurai shot it down with three arrows.
The head became Inugami 犬神 the Dog Deity,
the body became Sarugami and
the tail became the plant suikazura スイカズラ / 吸葛 honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica (other versions say 蛇 a serpent).
- or in another version -
The head flow off to 讃岐国 Sanuki and became Sarugami.
The body flew off to 阿波国 Awa and became 犬神 Inugami,
the tail flew off to 備前国 Bizen and became the plant Suikazura.



. NUE, nue 鵺, 鵼, 恠鳥, or 奴延鳥 the Nue monster .
- - - - - The cursed Nue came floating in the sea to Shikoku.
Its head landed in Sanuki and became a monkey deity.
Its tail landed in Iyo and became a serpent deity.
Its hands and feet landed in Tosa and became a dog deity.

. suikazura スイカズラ / 吸葛 / 忍冬 と伝説 Legends about honeysuckle .

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三好市 Miyoshi city

Sarutahiko 猿田彦
The makers of wooden tools and toys, kijiya 木地屋, venerate Yamanokami. If normal people go to their places of worship and make fire, they will find a cruel death.
Since Yamanokami is Sarutahiko, they are not allowed to use the word SARU (monkey) while they do their work.





................................................................ Wakayama 和歌山県
日高郡 Hidaka district 龍神村 Ryujin Mura (Dragon God Village)

sarusuberi 猿すべり
Once Yamanokami and 水の神 Mizunokami, the God of the Water, had a contest about which had more, trees in the forest or fish in the water. They called out each name and counted it. In the end Yamanokami seemed to have lost because he called two names, 猿すべり Sarusuberi and さるたの木 Saruta no ki, for the same tree.
They tore the records and tried to forget about it.
But for some reason, the 7th day of the 11th lunar month became
山の神の木数えの日 the day of Yamanokami counting trees.
If a person goes to the mountain forest on this day, he will be counted as a tree.


. sarusuberi 百日紅 Crape myrtle .
Even monkeys fall from trees! sarusuberi!

. Mizu no Kamisama 水の神様 God of Water .

A similar story of counting is told in Shiga
. The number of their kenzoku 眷属 followers and servants .



................................................................ Yamanashi 山梨県
都留市 Tsuru city

. do not say saru さる/ サル monkey in the forest .


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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -
17 猿神 (09)

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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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