shinshi otsukai messenger

kujira 鯨 whale fish ，umigami 海神
In areas where they fish for for whales and also in areas where they do not, he is venerated as the messenger of
. Umi no Kami 海の神 God of the Sea .

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宮城県 Miyagi 気仙沼市 Kesennuma city 唐桑町 / 白鯨 white whale

. Shrine Osaki Jinja 御崎神社 .
There is a legend from a shipwrecked boat, that was rescued by 白鯨 a large white whale fish and brought to this shore safely.
The white whale, as the deity 御崎明神 Osaki Myojin, came riding on 白馬 a white horse. He sat down on the beach on a mat of warabi ワラビ bracken, fern,.
So the people in this area, to show their respect of the deity, never eat whale meat or bracken.

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. unagi 鰻 eel - Mishima Taisha 三嶋大社 .
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鹿児島県 Kagoshima 大島郡 Oshima district 瀬戸内町 Setouchi town

In the hamlet 大島郡古仁屋町勝浦 Katsuura there was one izumi 泉 spring, where many eels lives. hHe nearby villagers venerated them as divine messengers and would never catch or eat them.
Some had a mark on the head as special messengers.

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

.......................................................................　Aichi 愛知県 .....
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南設楽郡 Minami-Shitara district 長篠村 Nagashina village

yamakagashi ヤマカカシ poisonous snake, Rhabdophis family
If there is raimei 雷鳴 a thunderstorm, this snake is going up to heaven (or so some people say.)
This snake is a divine messenger, the messenger of Atago 愛宕 or the messenger of 山の神 Yamanokami.

.......................................................................　Chiba 千葉県 .....
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船橋市 Funabashi city

The messenger of the Shrine at Funabashi is shika 鹿 the deer. Six people who had killed a deer got a divine punishment. Their homes burned down and they all got a high fever and died the same day.

.......................................................................　Ehime 愛媛県 .....
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松山市 Matsuyama city

. Sai no Kami, Sainokami 塞の神 and 道祖神 Dosojin, Dososhin deities .
Sai no Kami is venerated in many villages. The Deity is also seen as a matsu 松 pine tree and often shirohebi 白蛇 a white serpent lives there.
This serpent is seen as 塞の神の使い the messenger of the Deity.

.......................................................................　Fukushima 福島県 .....
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いわき市 Iwaki city

The messenger at the Shrine 四八社神 Shishu Jinja is kamome かもめ a sea gull. People are not allowed to catch and eat this bird.
四十八社山神社 - Shimokori-14 Shimokoriyama, Tomioka, Futaba District, Fukushima

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南会津郡 Minami-Aizu district 檜枝岐村 Hinoemata village
. Hashiba no Banba 橋場のばんば the old woman at the bridge .

.......................................................................　Kagawa 香川県 .....
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shiro mamushi 白蝮 white viper

This animal is also called オハッスン Ohassun.
It is the messenger of the deity and thus never hunted.

.......................................................................　Kagoshima 鹿児島県 .....
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habu 波布 pit viper
The messenger of 山の神 Yamanokami. On special ritual days it might appear.
One day on the second day of the New Year, a carpenter prepared offerings and there he saw two vipers coiled on this tool box.

.......................................................................　Kyoto 京都府 .....
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亀岡市 Kameoka city 大井町 Oi town
. Carp Koi Daimyojin 鯉大明神 from Tanba province .

.......................................................................　Kumamoto 熊本県 .....
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shinshi no tori 神使の鳥 a bird as divine messenger
Going down the river 球磨川 Kumagawa there is a stone gate and cave named 神の瀬 / 神瀬 Kami no Se.
In this cave lived a bird with only one leg, the divine messenger, venerated by the local people.
They fear if they capture the bird, the village will be cursed.
If they drink from the water in the cave, all illness will be cured and they will live a long healthy life.
球磨村神瀬石灰洞窟
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

.......................................................................　Miyazaki 宮崎県 .....
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東臼杵郡 Higashi-Usuki district 諸塚村 Morotsuka village

. shirozaru シロザル / 白猿 hakuen - a white monkey .
of 市山大明神 Ichiyama Daimyojin.
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At the stone lantern near the torii 鳥居 gate of the Shrine 愛宕神社 Atago Jinja there lives hebi 蛇 a serpent as 神の使い the messenger of the Deity.

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宮崎市 Miyazaki city 青島 Aoshima

miyakodori 都鳥 / yurikamome, 百合鴎　ユリカモメ hooded gull, Larus ridibundus
In Aoshima there lived a couple of hooded gulls. They were venerated as divine messengers.

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Miyazaki 登米市 Tome city

oino, o-ino オイノ, (oinu, o-inu オイヌ)　狼 wolf
The pronounciation oino instead oinu is an expression of veneration.
Once upon a time, a wolf had come from Mitsumine Shrine as a divine messenger. If people met him, they would greet him and say
"Honorable Wolf, please protect our fields carefully!"

. Shrine Mitsumine Jinja 三峰神社 / 三峯 .

.......................................................................　Nagano 長野県 .....
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茅野市 Chino city

shinshi no tori 神使の鳥 a bird as messenger
At the peak of 蓼科の峯 Mount Tateshina there lives 神鳥 a divine bird, resembling a raichoo 雷鳥 Raicho snow grouse, "Thunderbird".
In the morning and evening its voice can be heard to announce the time. The male bird is rather black, the female more yellow, with a black breast and white spots on it.
The chicks like to eat matsu no mi 松の実 pine nuts and green pine leaves.

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shinshi no tori, uma 神使の鳥，馬 bird and horse as divine messenger
In former times when many horses were kept outside, about six were selected and offered to 権現 the Gongen Deity.
When the horses kneeled in front of the Shrine, a divine bird messenger came with small branches of a pine tree and offered them to the horses. The horses took them in their mouth and went home. If the branches are kept close, the horses will not have problems with wild animals or dokuhebi 毒蛇 poisonous serpents.

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Nagano 諏訪市 Suwa city

shinshi no kitsune 神使の狐 the fox as divine messenger

source : suwatakken.naganoblog...

諏訪湖 Lake Suwako freezes every year in the coldest season.
During that time, the 神狐 divine Fox messenger might walk over the lake to the Suwa Shrine. Sometimes even horses with heavy burdens can cross it.
If there is no Fox messenger walking over the ice, it is not strong enough.
In Spring, when it gets warmer and the ice melts, the fox comes back from the Shrine and walks back over the lake. From that time on, humans can not cross any more and the ice melts.

. Yama no Kami 山の神 God of the Mountain and fox legends .

.......................................................................　Okinawa 沖縄県 .....
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石垣市 Ishigaki city / 神の使い

karasu 烏 a crow
The crow is seen as the messenger of the Deity. It is called bunaji 女頭（婢、ブナジ）.

.......................................................................　Saitama 埼玉県 .....
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春日部市 Kasuga city

. three masks of 竜神 the Dragon Deity .

.......................................................................　Shiga 滋賀県 .....
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犬上郡 Inugami district 多賀町 Taga town

During the main festival on November 1 there are many ritual offerings at 八幡神社 the Shrine Hachiman Jinja.
A senjiki dana センジキ棚 special ritual shelf for offering of rice, called senjiki 握り飯（センジキ）. When the priest claps his hands two times, the sound will wake two karasu 烏 crows which come to eat the offerings. They are the messengers of this Shrine and are called
okarasu, o-karasu オカラス "venerable crows".

.......................................................................　Tottori 鳥取県 .....
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東伯郡 Tohaku district 三朝町 Misasa town

shiro ookami 白狼 a white wolf
. Legends from Misasa Onsen 三朝温泉 Misasa Hot Spring .

.......................................................................　Wakayama 和歌山県 .....

. Keyamura Rokusuke 毛谷村六助 .
A strong farmer turned samurai and messenger of the Deity. He got records of the art of war from a Shrine at the foothills of Mount Hikatayama, where the Deity Kora 高良 is venerated.
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みなべ町 Minabe Town

A 天狗 Tengu is the messenger of 秋葉の神 the Akiba deity.
. Akibagongen 秋葉権現　Akiba Gongen .

.......................................................................　Yamagata 山形県 .....
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長井市 Nagai city / 神の使い

. shishimai 獅子舞 a lion dance for Inari .

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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1 comment:

Gabi Greve said...: saru = Hieizan
inu = koya san, omine san & mitsumine zan
inari= fushimi
tanuki, kujaku, inoshishi= atago
komori = tanba
ebi= tenkawa jinja
sanbon kaeasu = kumano hongu shrine
usagi= Gassan
kame= udo shrine in miyazaki
kumara kompira= kotohira jingu
shika ( Fujiwara clan protector) is Nara kasuga shrine
.
.; 11/20/2021

14/03/2020

shinshi otsukai messenger

1 comment: