Mimeguri Inari Shrine Tokyo

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Mimeguri Inari Jinja 三囲稲荷神社 Mimeguri Inari Shrine, Tokyo
Mimeguri Jinja 三囲神社 / 三圍神社 Mimeguri Shrine


東京都墨田区向島2-5-17 // Tokyo, Sumida ward, Mukojima

- - - - - Deities in residence - - - - -
Uka no Mitama no Mikoto (Uganomitama) 宇迦之御魂 / 倉稲魂命

Legend says the former name of the Shrine was Tanaka Jinari 田中稲荷 Inari shrine in the fields.

The founding date is not quite clear, maybe around the 9th century by a painter-priest from 近江国三井寺 Omi no Kuni Miidera, named 僧源慶 Genkei, who died in 1216.
He heard about the Tanaka Inari shrine and wanted to build a bigger hall. As he was digging the ground, he found a pot. In it was a statue of an old white fox, holding a hoju 宝珠 wishfulfilling jewel in the right hand and an ear of rice in the left hand. Out of nowhere an old fox appeared,
walked around the statue (meguri) for three times (三 mi)
and then fell down dead. This is the origin of the name.

Later the 三井家 Mitsui Family made this shrine their protector Shrine.
The Chinese character for Mimeguri 三囲 includes the 井 of the Mitsui name in the second character.

The Mitsui family also had a torii 鳥居 Shrine gate made with three pillars:
三囲神社の三柱鳥居




There is a stone lantern offering from the Mitsui family with only three openings :




. Echigoya 越後屋 and the Mitsui Family　三井 .

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shuin　朱印 stamp



omamori お守り　amulets

- more in the Wikipedia -

In the compound is a Kagura-den hall for ritual dance.

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. Sumida-gawa hakkei 隅田川八景 .
Mimeguri-zutsumi no sekishoo 三囲堤 夕照 Sunset Glow at Mimeguri Embankment


広重 Utagawa Hiroshige

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Excursion to Mimeguri Shrine at Mukojima
鳥居清長 Torii Kiyonaga (1752 - 1815)
Beautiful scene of young women on an excursion to Mimeguri Shrine at Mukojima. The pause on a pathway, the two beauties at right sharing an umbrella under the afternoon sun. The woman at left smiles happily as she looks back over her shoulder, holding the end of her red obi. Fields stretch out into the distance with a few people strolling along the paths in between them. Boats can be seen on the river, and buildings line the opposite shore. The slender beauties are drawn with graceful, flowing line work, with lovely fine detail in the elegant kimono and obi fabrics.
An attractive, classic Edo era subject by Kiyonaga
- source - fuji arts -

Torii Kiyonaga 鳥居清長 (1752 – 1815)

Mimeguri no yudachi 三囲の夕立 A Sudden Shower at the Mimeguri Inari Shrine

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In the compound of the Shrine is

a place to pray to 恵比寿 Ebisu and 大国神 Daikoku
Part of the Pilgrimage to 隅田川七福神 the Seven Gods of Good Luck along the river Sumidagawa.



. Sumidagawa Shichi Fukujin 隅田川七福神 Seven Gods of God Luck .


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- Reference : 三囲神社
- Reference : Mimeguri Shrine


. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja　神社) - Introduction .

. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .

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- - - - -　 H A I K U　 - - - - -

. Kobayashi Issa in Edo .

棒杭に江戸を詠る蛙哉
boogui ni Edo o nagamuru kawazu kana

on a stake
a frog gazes long
sings of Edo
Tr. Chris Drake

This is a spring hokku,
but it was written just after New Year's in the 1st month (February) of 1825, probably before many frogs were singing in the snow country where Issa lived. Issa's note says "Mimeguri Shrine," a reference to a Shinto shrine near the Sumida River in northeast Edo, the largest city in Japan in Issa's time. The hokku must be a hokku of memory, since Issa was far from Edo in his hometown when he recorded it in his diary. A woodblock print of the Mimeguri Shrine from Issa's time shows a row of stakes along the river's edge, protecting the base of the high embankment on the east side of the Sumida River. There are also high tethering poles along the bank used by small ferry boats when they stop at a riverside landing to unload or pick up visitors to the shrine.


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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

.......................................................................　Tokyo, Sumida 墨田区 .....

. amagoi　雨乞い rain rituals .
to pray for rain or to pray for the end of a long rainy period.

At the Shrine 三囲神社 Mimeguri Jinja there was a sub-Shrine for 稲荷社 the Inari Fox Deity.
In the fifth month of 1705, there was one fox roaming the compounds of the Shrine. If people made offerings of sweets, the fox would come out and show itself.

A disciple of haiku poet 松尾芭蕉 Matsuo Basho, Kikaku Shinshi, wrote a haiku to pray for rain at the Shrine in 1693

雨乞や田を見めぐりの神ならば
amagoi ya ta o mimeguri no kami naraba

And indeed, it started to rain after that.

. Takarai Kikaku 宝井其角 / Enomoto Kikaku (1661-1707) 榎本其角 .
- Shinshi Ki 晋子忌 Shinshi Memorial Day

. Sumida ku, Sumida-ku 墨田区 Sumida ward, "ink field" .

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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- #mimeguri #mitsui #amagoi -
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Samuhara Shrine Osaka

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Samuhara jinja サムハラ神社 Samuhara Shrine, Osaka


大阪府大阪市西区立売堀2-5-26 / 2 Chome-5-26 Itachibori, Nishi-ku, Ōsaka-shi,

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A Shinto-derived new religious movement which began in 1935 when Tanaka Tomisaburō (1868-1967) rebuilt a dilapidated shrine in Okayama.
After he had experienced a close brush with death on the frontline during the Russo-Japanese War, Tanaka felt he had received power from a talisman inscribed with four ideograms which he read sa-mu-ha-ra, and in turn he began to make miniature amulets (omamori) of this sort which he distributed for free.

Because of such proselytizing activities, however, the regional authorities accused him of using an unauthorized shrine to conduct private business, and as punishment, the shrine he had constructed was stripped of its contents and burned to the ground in 1936.
Tanaka, however, continued his activities of distributing amulets to troops being sent to the Asian front during World War II, and following the war in 1951, he registered his movement under the Religious Corporations Law (Shūkyō Hōjinhō) and rebuilt the shrine. In 1952 he moved the shrine to its present location.
After Tanaka's death his adopted son Tanaka Kōichi succeeded him.
-- Headquarters: Osaka Prefecture.
-- Nominal membership: approximately 500,000 (S)
- source : Yumiyama Tatsuya, Kokugakuin

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shuin　朱印 stamp



omamori お守り　amulets

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- Reference : サムハラ神社
- Reference : samuhara shrine


. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja　神社) - Introduction .

. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .

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The four letters SA MU HA RA help protect the body from harm and grand a long life.
Since they are shinji 神字 characters of God, they can not be expressed with normal 漢字 Kanji characters and can not be reproduced on a computer.
They have been used since olden times for amulets of temples,

サムハラ神社
無傷無病、延命長寿の神として知られる。𪮷〓𪮷𪮇（サムハラ）[3][4]とは不思議の4文字で、身を守ると言われている。これは漢字のような文字であるが、神字であり漢字とは異なる。Unicodeには、〓のみが収録されておらず、活字変換は不可。他の文字は全てCJK統合漢字拡張Cに収録されている。
東大寺（西東大寺）（千葉県西市）、雷山千如寺大悲王院（清賀上人により十転化の功徳があるという）など各地の寺社のお守りの呪文に使用されている。
サムハラの故事
曾子が病になって臨終の際に、弟子に体の全部を調べさせ、一つの傷痕もないのを見て安心し「父母に体を受けて生まれて幸いにも一つの傷痕もなくお返しする事ができるのは孝を尽くしたことだ」と言い、生命の守護神（𪮷〓𪮷𪮇大神）に深く感謝したという。

身體髮膚 受之父母 不敢毀傷 孝之始也[5]
身体髪膚これを父母に受く、あえて毀傷せざるは孝の始めなり
— 孝経
加藤清正は文禄・慶長の役の時、𪮷〓𪮷𪮇を武器の刃に彫りつけて信じていたために万死に一生を得たという。
『耳嚢[6]』巻2に、1782年（天明2年）、新見愛之助という小姓が登城の時に馬ごと坂の下に落ちたが怪我がなかった。他の者に理由を聞かれると領民から送られた守護札を見せ「領民が野においてキジを矢で射たが当たらず、逃げようともしない。弓がうまい者たちが競ったが駄目であった。このキジを捕まえたところ背中に𪮷〓𪮷𪮇の4文字が書いてあった。『この文字を書いた札を懐に入れておくと良いことがある』と流行った。」と語った[7]との記述がある。
平田篤胤の『仙境異聞』（上） 三之巻[8][9]に慶長年間に大樹公（征夷大将軍のこと）が狩で発見した鶴の羽にあった文字（𪮷〓𪮷𪮇の文字）が怪我よけとして広まり、寅吉が仙骨の人の符字のようなものに見たが、「ジヤク、コウ、ジヤウ、カウ」というように聞いたがよく知らないと言ったという。
岡田挺之の随筆『秉穂録』に「福岡で鶴を捕ったところ、鶴の翼に「さむはら」という四文字の符字があった。長命の符字であるだろうと人々はこれを写し取って帯びた。また斎藤実盛の位牌が淡路のある寺にあり、位牌の背にこの四文字がある。最近、江戸でこの符字を帯びた人が落馬したが怪我が無かったので、これを帯びることが流行した。」とある[10]。
國安仙人（万延元年（1860年）7月23日-大正元年（1912年）9月28日　幼名　米太郎　普明光美　加波山神社の摂末社普明神社に祀られる。）が信者に与えたタク字びよる霊符の最初の4文字がサムハラの文字（読みは「けん しょう けん ご」）であったという[11]。
- - - その他
𪮷〓𪮷𪮇はサンスクリット語の samvara （「三跋羅[12]（さんばら）sanbara」）という言葉に由来するという。
短刀に刻印し守り刀とされた[13]。
厭勝銭（えんしょうせん）の一種にサムハラ銭 samuhara sen がある[14][15]（厭勝銭は流通貨幣ではなく、縁起物もしくは護符として所持した銭。ここでは弾除けの祈念銭）。
- reference source : weblio.jp/wkpja/content... -



samuhara sen サムハラ銭 coin with SAMUHARA inscription



samuhara tsuba サムハラ鍔 sword guard
. The Sword Guard 鍔 Tsuba 　 .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

「■□■△」
（■は手偏に「合」の下に「幸」。□は手偏に「台」。△は手偏に「己」の下に「口」）

.......................................................................　Fukuoka 福岡県 .....

Once a tsuru 鶴 crane was caught, with the four letters SAMUHARA on its wings.
People thought these letters would protect and bring a long life, so they copied them.

At 淡路 Awaji there was a temple with the ihai 位牌 Buddhist mortuary tablet of 斉藤実盛 Saito Sanemori.
On its back side were the letters SAMUHARA.

. Saito Sanemori 斉藤実盛 (794 - 1185) .




.......................................................................　Saitama 埼玉県 .....

In 1668 a 鉄砲師 gun specialist from 紀州 Kishu named 吉川源五兵衛 Yoshikawa Gengobe came to Edo.
At 大宮鷹場 the hawking area of Omiya in the village of 吉野村 Yoshino he shot 白い雉 a white pheasant.
When he could get close, he saw on its back the letters SAMUHARA.
He thought this was an amulet to protect from injuries, so he wrote the letters on paper and shot at them.
After that he never hit a target again.




.......................................................................　Tokyo　東京 .....

A man in Edo had carried a SAMUHARA amulet on his body. When he fell from his horse one day, we was not hurt.
Soon this kind of amulet became popular in Edo.

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. Chiyoda ku 千代田区 Chiyoda ward .

samuhara さむはら / サムハラ
In 1652, the Shogun went hawk hunting. The hawk caught a large goose. The four letters of SAMUHARA were written on the breast of the bird.
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Ushigafuchi, Ushigabuchi 牛ヶ淵 （うしがふち）
The canal at Kudansaka 件坂下 / 九段坂 is called 牛ヶ淵 "riverpool of the bull".
It is a 魔所 bewitched place.
Once in 1782, a Samurai rode here on his horse, but he fell down and tumbled into the "Riverpool of the Bull".
But the man and his horse did not show any wounds.
This is because once the Samurai was hunting for pheasants and shot at a kiji 雉 pheasant.
He followed the bird and finally caught it and saw the four letters SAMUHARA written on its wings.
Since then he had kept an amulet with these words in his breast pocket.

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. Kami-Meguro 上目黒 .

In 1652, the Shogun went hawk hunting. The hawk caught a large goose. There were four letters written on the breast of the bird.
The letters were SA MU HA RA.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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- #samuhara #samuharashrine -
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Okitsuhime Shrine Ishikawa

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Okitsuhime Jinja 奥津姫神社 Okitsuhime Shrine, Ishikawa
おきつひめじんじゃ / Okitsu-hime Shrine
奥津比め神社 奥津比咩神社 (舳倉島　Hegurajima Island)


石川県輪島市海士町舳倉島高見２ / Ishikawa, Wajima,


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Tagiri Hime no Mikoto 田心姫命

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竜神池と観音堂 Dragon God Pond and Kannon Do Hall
藩政末期に一旭上人という僧が 島にやって来て、毎晩観音堂に島民 を集めて説教をしていた。ところが、 いつも末座に若い女がじっと聞きい っているので、ある晩上人がたずね ると、女は「私はこの池に棲む竜な のです。難破船の錨の毒にあたって 死んだのですが、未だに成仏できずにいます。どう か助けてください。」と涙を流してたのむのだった。
そこで翌朝、島民が池の水をくみ上げたところ、 池の底から大小二体の骨が見つかった。骨は樽四 杯分にもなった。
この母子の竜骨は法蔵寺分院に葬られた。人々 は父親の竜が現在も近くの海に生息していると考え、 神として祭って無他神社とした。
この竜神池は周囲約１８０ｍあり、底が竜宮城に 通じていて決して水が枯れることは無いといわれている。
観昔堂は中北組と上北組が管理している。
－舳倉島案内より－

恵比須神社 Ebisu Jinja
島の北東に位置し、漁業繁栄の 祈願所で、恵比須大神を祭っている。 島にある七つの小宮の一つで、恵 比須組と大北組が管理している。
舳倉島へ一斉渡島の行っていた 頃は、島へ着くとまず目分の所管 の小宮へ組の全員が集まって今年 の稼業の安全祈願を行い、お神酒五升を飲んで夜を明かした。この行 事を「ゴショウヅイヤ」(五升通夜)と呼んでいる。
そして、それが済むと島民全員が総本社の奥津比咩神社に集まり、 区長が主宰して一年間のいろいろな決まり事を相談する総会を開き、 最後に全員で飲み明かしたといわれる。これが「ナカマヅイヤ」(仲問 通夜)である。また一年の稼業を終えて一斉離島する時はその逆で「レ イヅイヤ」(礼通夜)が行われていた。
－舳倉島案内より－

- - - - - HP of the Shrine
- source : genbu.net/data/noto... -


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Yearly Festivals　年中行事

Nafune Taisai 名舟大祭 Great festival at Nafune
July 31st / August 1st // at Nafune-machi, Wajima City

This festival features participants wearing demon masks and seaweed head gear and culminates in a frenzy of wild drumming.
輪島キリコ　Kiriko is like mikoshi (portable shrine), but it is set up not a portable shrine but a tall lantern on the frame. On the lantern, beautiful pictures or characters are painted.



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御陣乗太鼓　Gojinjo daiko drum festival　
Cheers for kiriko lanterns climbing a steep hill
Nafune-machi, Wajima City is known for its Gojinjo drum performance.
Legend has it that when the army of the lord of Echigo, Kenshin Uesugi, attacked Noto, it was driven away by masked fishermen of Nafune Village beating their drums. People thanked the deity Okutsuhime of Hegura Island for this blessing, and started to play the drums at the festival of Okutsuhime Shrine.
The first highlight of the festival starts at 9:00 pm on the first evening of the festival. The kiriko lanterns gather at Hakusan Shrine, a detached worship place of Okutsuhime Shrine. Hakusan Shrine is located on a steep cliff. The people carrying the lanterns climb the hill carefully so as not to fall, and are encouraged by the cheers of the audience. After that, the kiriko lanterns and the portable shrine are carried to Nafune Beach.
The portable shrine is carried on a boat to the torii gate in the sea to meet the deity of Okutsuhime Shrine on Hegura Island. After the portable shrine returns to the beach, the performance of Gojinjo drums starts. The fearful demon masks and dynamic sound of the drums are impressive. After 11 o’clock at night, the portable shrine and kiriko lanterns are paraded through the town, and a kiriko performance takes place in the square.
- source : ishikawa.jp/kiriko/en/kiriko/nafune...

- Look at many photos !
能登のキリコ祭り Noto Kiriko Festival
- reference source : hot-ishikawa.jp/kiriko...
七尾市のキリコ祭り -


source : tripensemble.com/gojinjodaiko...

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The origin of Gojinjyo Taiko dates back to 1576,when it is reputed to have saved the villege of Nafune on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture from an offencive launched by the well-known war lord,Kenshin Uesugi, to invade the interior region of Noto. In courageous attempt to defend their native land,the villagers penetrated the Uesugi ranks under cover of darkness,wearing masks of bark and with seaweed on their heads to give the appearance of tangled long hair.
The Uesugi camp
was thrown into confusion at the unexpected sound of their Jintaiko, or battle drums.and the unearthly appearance.They fled from the region in due haste.
It is said that the tremendous noises heard that night were the sounds of Gojinjo Taiko.
Gojinjo Taiko was designated as Intangible Cultural Asset by Wajima City in 1961 , and by Ishikawa Prefecture in 1963.
- HP of the Gojinjo Daiko drums
- reference source : gojinjodaiko.jp/en... -






. The Big Drum (taiko, oodaiko 大鼓、太鼓、大太鼓） .

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. Onipedia 日本の鬼 The Demons of Japan .

. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja　神社) - Introduction .

. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .


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. Mikoshi, danjiri . . . Festival Floats .

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- #okitsuhime #okutsuhime #gojinjodaiko #gojinjodrum -
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Kizumi Jinja Ishikawa

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Kizumi Jinja 木住神社 Kizumi Shrine, Ishikawa
鳳珠郡能登町山田2-40番地 / Noto, Hosu District, Yamada, Ishikawa



- quote
伝説によれば、慶長年間に新田義貞の子孫四郎兵衛義晴当地に居城を構え、家宝の剱を神体として素戔嗚尊を祀り、後に菊理姫命を合祀して新田氏の氏神とし、後には木住部落全体の崇敬するところとなった。昭和21年に山田郷神社より分離し当部落にあった気多神社、度会神社を合祀して、木住神社を創立した。3月28日花祭に鬼討ちと称し、鬼面を描き、参詣人が竹の弓矢で射的した後、白と草の餅で小さい菱餅を作り、太鼓の拍子に合わせて参詣人に撤餅し、その間、有志のものが桃花の枝を持って即興的に踊り、これを花踊りと称していたが今は踊る者がない。
- source : ishikawa-jinjacho.or.jp / 今蔵神社


- - - - - Deities in residence - - - - -
素戔嗚尊 Susanoo no Mikoto
菊理姫命 Kukurihime no Mikoto
伊弉諾命 Izanagi no Mikoto
天照大神 Amaterasu Okami
豊受大神 Toyouke Okami

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Yearly Festivals　年中行事

oni uchi matsuri, oniuchi 鬼打ち祭 Festival of hitting the demons
3月28日 March 28



Spring festival to pray for a good harvest, health and safety of the family.
A painting of saru-oni 猿鬼 Monkey-Demon is hung on a tree in the Shrine compound and then the Shrine parishioners shoot an arrow each at this demon.
After that they take branches with peach blossoms in both hands and perform a funny dance. The whole compound is then filled with laughter.





. saruoni, saru-oni　猿鬼 a Monkey-Deomn Yokai .


. Onipedia 日本の鬼 The Demons of Japan .

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. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .


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Nihon Jinja Saitama

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. Shinto Shrines (jinja　神社) - Introduction .
. kami　神　Shinto deities .
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Nihon Jinja 日本神社 (にほんじんじゃ) Nihon Shrine, "Japan Shrine", Saitama
(Yamato Jinja)



本庄市児玉町小平1578 / Kodamachō Kodaira, Honjō-shi, Saitama
Near 児玉町児玉198・八幡神社社 Hachiman Jinja
(also Ishigami Jinja 石神神社)

This is a shrine in honor of Jinmu Tenno, the first emperor of Japan, built in 791 by Sakanoue Tamura Maro 坂上田村麻呂
This is the only shrine with this name in Japan.
There are six sub-shrines in the compound.
The way up to the shrine is via a huge stone staircase . . people come here to pray for becoming Number One in their field of work and achievement.
The priest in attendance lives in the nearby Hachiman Jinja Shrine.

- - - - - Deities in residence - - - - -
Jinmu Tenno 神武天皇

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この写真は４月３日の神武天皇祭に
本庄市児玉町小平の日本神社で撮ったものです。

. Jinmu Tenno 神武天皇 .

. Sakanoue no Tamuramaro 坂上田村麻呂 (758 - 811) .

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- quote -
Nihon-jinja Shrine
This is the only shrine in all Japan registered with the Jinja Cho (Association of Shinto Shrines) under the name "Nihon-jinja Shrine."
As the only shrine bearing the name "Japan," Olympic athletes and many people involved in sports visit the shrine to worship.
A blue daruma from the Nihon-jinja Shrine accompanied Nadeshiko Japan (the Japanese women's soccer team) to the World Cup in Germany in 2011 and is said to have led the team to victory.
A blue daruma was also present at efforts to bring the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics to Tokyo – another undertaking which succeeded splendidly.
The shrine sits atop a hill, and talismans, charms and blue daruma are available at the shop Arai Shoten at the foot of the hill.
- source : jobu-kinunomichi.jp -


The shrine is famous for its blue Daruma - all ready for winning and being Number One.
- reference source : arai-darumaya 荒井だるま屋 Arai Daruma Store -







2011 FIFA Women's World Cup
After the final game finished 2–2 after extra time, Japan beat the United States 3–1 in a penalty shootout, becoming the first Asian team to win the FIFA Women's World Cup.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !
. Soccer World Cup Daruma .


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. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja　神社) - Introduction .

. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .


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Kagutsuchi Homusubi fire

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Kagutsuchi カグツチ / 軻遇突智 Kagu-tsuchi - "incarnation of fire"
Homusubi no Mikoto 火産霊命
Hinokagatsuchi 火之迦具土

He is the main deity in residence at the many
. Atago Jinja 愛宕神社 Atago shrines of Japan .

Kagutsuchi is the patron deity of blacksmiths and ceramic workers.


source : rekihaku-bo/historystation　/ イザナギとイザナミの国造り

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- quote -
Other names:
Kagutsuchi no mikoto, Hinoyagihayao no kami, Hinokagabiko no kami (Kojiki),
Ho musuhi (Nihongi).
The kami of fire or hi no kami. According to Kojiki and an "alternate writing" transmitted by Nihongi, Izanami suffered mortal burns when giving birth to this kami.
Upon Izanami's death, Izanagi was enraged and cut up the deity with his sword, whereupon Takemikazuchi and other deities were produced from the blood on his sword.
Still other deities were produced from Kagutsuchi's body, and their names all included the element yamatsumi, thus indicating their relation to mountains.
In the Engishiki,
a source which contains the myth, Izanami, in her death throes, bears the water god Mizuhame, instructing her to pacify Kagutsuchi if he should become violent. This story also contains references to traditional fire-fighting tools: gourds for carrying water and wet clay and water reeds for smothering fires.
- reference source : Kadoya Atsushi - Kokugakuin -





Kuraokami, Takaokami 高おかみ神, Kuramitsuha
Three Kami produced from the blood that dripped from Izanagi's sword when he killed the kami of fire, Kagutsuchi.
. Kifune Shrine Kume 貴布弥（きふね）神社 .
岡山県久米郡久米町桑上 Kuwakami village, Kume, Okayama


. 金山彦神 Kanayamabiko, 金山姫 Kanayamabime .
According to Kojiki, these kami were produced from the vomit (taguri) emitted by Izanami as she lay dying following the birth of the kami of fire Kagutsuchi.
The History of Tatara - Kanayago-Kami


. Kifune Jinja 貴船神社 Shrine in Kyoto .
Tamayori-hime　玉依姫, a female water Kami, is venerated here to watch over Kagutsuchi, in a balance of fire and water worship in Kyoto.
The tow other deities enshrined here are Takaokami-no-Kami and Kuraokami-no-Kami.

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- quote -
Kagutsuchi (aka Hi-no-Kagutsuchi) is the Shinto god or kami of fire and is also known as Homusubi. The son of Izanami and Izanagi, the fire god is the father of eight warrior gods and eight mountain gods, amongst others. Such a destructive force as fire in a culture where buildings were typically made of wood and paper resulted in Kagutsuchi becoming an important object of Shinto ritual and a frequent receiver of appeasing offerings.
- Genealogy & Offspring
According to the 8th-century CE Kojiki ('Record of Ancient Things') and Nikon Shoki ('Chronicle of Japan' and also known as the Nihongi), Kagutsuchi-no-kami, to give his full name, was born from Izanami, one of the Shinto creator gods, but such was his fierce heat that he killed his mother in the process. His father Izanagi was not best pleased with this result and so lopped off Kagutsuchi’s head with his great sword, the Ame-no-o-habari-no-kami. From the blood which gushed out over the surrounding rocks and dripped from the sword’s blade and hilt another eight gods were born, all of them powerful swordsmen kami. The two most important of these martial gods are Takemikazuchi-no-kami and Futsunushi-no-kami, with the former being also a thunder god and patron of the martial arts who famously subdued Namazu the giant catfish that lives beneath the earth and causes earthquakes by flipping his tail.

Two other gods born from Kagutsuchi’s blood were Kuraokami-no-kami, who is mentioned in the Manyoshu poem anthology (compiled c. 759 CE) as being a dragon and rain god.
Another is Amatsumikaboshi, the kami of Venus, the Evening Star. Her alternative name is Amenokagasewo.

After Kagutsuchi’s decapitation the story continues and from just about every body part of the fire god, from his left foot to his genitals, eight more gods were born. These were mountain gods which represented different types of mountains such as forested ones, those with moors, those far away, those possessing iron, those which provided passes to adjoining valleys and, of course, volcanoes. The stories of Kagutsuchi which include the creation of iron and swords may well be a mythological explanation for the arrival of iron and superior metal goods via immigrants arriving in Japan from mainland Asia at the beginning of the Yayoi Period (c. 300 BCE or earlier to c. 250 CE), many of whom may well have been warriors.

In an alternative version, or rather an added segment, recorded in the 10th-century CE Engishiki, before she dies Izanami hides away and gives birth to three more gods: the water kami Mizuhame-no-mikoto, the clay princess, the gourd, and the water reed. All four are instructed by their dying mother to watch out for Kagutsuchi and, if necessary, act to pacify him if he ever gets out of hand. The traditional fire-fighting equipment of the ancient Japanese was water, carried in a gourd, to pour on the fire while water reeds and clay were often used to smother it. Even today in some parts of Japan, there is a midwinter ritual where reed bundles are placed in the eaves of roofs so that they are handy if a fire should break out.
- Fire in Shinto Rituals
The Japanese have long since had a great fear of fire and the devastation it can cause, not least because Japanese buildings were traditionally made from highly combustible wood and paper walls with wood shale or grass roofs. Fires have destroyed almost every major ancient building and temple in the ancient cities of Japan over the centuries, and during the Edo period (1603-1868 CE), fires were so frequent at the capital Edo (modern Tokyo) that they were known as 'the flowers of Edo'.

It is not surprising then that ceremonies to appease and ward off Kagutsuchi were a common feature of Shinto ritual. In such rituals and prayers, Kagutsuchi is usually referred to as Homusubi, which translates as 'he who starts fires'. The ancient Japanese even dedicated a twice yearly ceremony to Kagutsuchi, the Ho-shizume-no-matsuri, which was sponsored by the imperial court whose sprawling palace complexes were frequently victim to fires. The ceremony was designed to please the god and ensure he would withhold his terrible flames for another six months. The destructive fire of Kagutsuchi is in contrast to the purifying fire of Shinto rituals, known as kiri-bi, which was traditionally made by rubbing together two pieces of hinoki wood, a type of cypress.

Kagutsuchi is sometimes equated with Atago Gongen, another kami of fire and considered an avatar of the Buddhist figure Jizo.
Strictly speaking, though, Atago Gongen is a more positive figure in Japanese mythology and acts as a protector from fire or a preserver of it.
- source : ancient.eu/Kagutsuchi - Mark Cartwright -


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- Reference : カグツチ
- Reference : kagutsuchi


. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja　神社) - Introduction .

. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .





. Katen, the God of Fire .
Katen 火天 / kajin 火神 the God of Fire


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. Karasu Tengu from the Atago Jinja shrine in Kyoto .


. Sugiyama Sooshoo (Soojoo)　杉山僧正 Sugiyama Sosho (Sojo) .
Sosho is about 3000 years old. He lives in 岩間町愛宕山 Mount Atagoyama in Iwama, Ibaraki.

. Taicho Daishi 泰澄大師 (682 ?683 - 767) .
He practised austerities at 愛宕山 Mount Atago together with En no Gyoja 役小角 En no Ozunu, where they met three Tengu and got special teachings and training.
天狗 白峰大僧正 Tengu Shiramine Daisojo



. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


.......................................................................　Chiba 千葉県 .....

. Mount Takagoyama 高宕山 .
高宕山 The Kanji in the middle, 宕, refers to the cave, and this reminded people of the famous 愛宕山 Atagoyama in Kyoto.
Maybe the Tengu from Atagoyama even came here to visit ? ??



.......................................................................　Fukui 福井県 .....

. "fire festival of Atago 愛宕の火祭り .



.......................................................................　Fukushima 福島県 .....

. 川中子の愛宕神社 Atago Shrine of Kawanakago .



.......................................................................　Miyazaki 宮崎県 .....

. Mount Atagoyama in Osaki 愛宕山のオサキ（尾根) .
and the wind kappa 兵主坊 Hyosubo



.......................................................................　Saitama　埼玉県 .....
Chichibu

. 和田神社 Wada Jinja .
with a sanctuary for the 愛宕様 Atago Deity, the 山の神 God of the Mountain.


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. Atago Gongen Densetsu　愛宕権現 伝説 More Legends about Atago Gongen .

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Hayama Shrine Fukushima

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Hayama Jinja 葉山神社 Hayama Shrine, Soma, Fukushima


source : blogs.yahoo.co.jp/tendomaru...
福島県相馬市馬場野 / Babano, Soma, Fukushima

- - - - - Deitiy in residence - - - - -

. Ooyamatsuminomikoto 大山祇神, 大山積神, 大山津見神 Oyama Tsumi no Mikoto .
Oyamatsumi no Mikoto, Ōyamatsumi - protector of trees and the mountain forest

. Yama no Kami 山の神 God of the Mountain in Fukushima .

The 葉山祠 Hayama shrine is also related to the Soma clan.
Soma Yoshitane 相馬義胤 (1548 - 16365)
He came to live in 馬場野 Babano.

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- quote -
Hayama-gomori - Retreat at Hayama.
A festival held between the fifteenth and the eighteenth day of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar at Kuronuma Shrine, Fukushima City.
According to a local legend, a long time ago, when the nearby hamlet of Kanesawa was being attacked by a giant crab the size of a tatami mat, seven families found shelter at Kuronuma Shrine.
There they received an oracle ( 託宣 takusen / 神託 shintaku) which enabled them to get rid of the crab.
It is said that a giant serpent (orochi) in the Abukuma River was also defeated thanks to a takusen from this shrine. The festival is held to commemorate these two events. Rites of obeisance and making mochi rice cakes are held on the fifteenth.
On the sixteenth, worshippers staying overnight at the small shrines, get naked in order to perform the yoisa rite, a pantomime of rice cultivation.
At dawn on the eighteenth, after having been purified with water, the worshippers climb Mount Hayama to recite ritual incantations (norito). There, an officiant known as the のりわら / ノリワラ noriwara acts as a medium for oracles predicting the weather, harvest and calamities for the coming year.
- source : kokugakuin Mogi Sakae -


黒沼神社 Kuronuma Jinja
福島市松川町金沢 Fukushima, Matsukawa, Kanezawa



- more photos:
- reference source : ameblo.jp/idjericho... -

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相馬郡 Soma district 飯館村 Iitate

Hayama no Kami 葉山の神 Kami of Hayama (羽山の神託)
The Noriwara wears white robes and a white headband and swings a heisoku 幣束 ritual wand.
The villagers built a ritual fire in a place separated with sacred ropes on four green bamboo poles. The Noriwara swings his ritual wand through the flames for purification (hi o shimesu火をしめす). Often the Noriwara himself jumps over the flames.

He answers to all kinds of questions:
Will I have to become a soldier and go to the army?
Will I get ill next year?
When asked, the Noriwara swings his ritual wand heavily up and down and waits till the Kami of Hayama has slipped into his body.
Then he swings the wand up and knees on the floor in reverence (神あがる kami agaru).
Now all present chant a purification prayer:
sange sange rokkon shojo さんげさんげろっこんしょうじょう.

When the Noriwara gets some salt water to drink, he comes back to his sense.
He takes a short rest and then answers to the questions of the next villager.
This ritual lasts the whole night.
At the end the Noriwara swings his wand again through the flames (hi o shimesu 火をしめす).

Then all take the offerings, go to the shrine and have a feast of the food offerings.
The ritual wand can now be placed at the entrance of a horse shed to keep the animals healthy.

The selection of a villager for Noriwara is done with great care.
Once the man had been effective, he will be chosen again and again.
A very clever and learned person is not suited for this sacred post.

If a person does not show respect for the rituals, the Noriwara might call out loud that this person will fall down near the fire.

Once a Noriwara became ill on the day of the rituals and could not attend. One of the villagers assembled at the shrine begun to pray and then became possessed by the Kami.
He jumped up and down, up and down.

Once a man called the oracle of the のりわら Noriwara a lie and laughed loud.
On the afternoon of this day it begun to rain and there was great flooding.


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福島市 Fukushima city 松川町 Matsukawa
Matuskawa is a small town outside of Fukushima City,

hayama no shintaku 羽山の神託 divination at Hayama
Kami from other mountains sometimes come for a visit and the Noriwara has to welcome them and see them off, one after the other.
Sometimes if Hayama no Kami can not show, they can take his turn during the oracle.
Sometimes it is 稲荷 Inari san, sometimes 水神 Suiji, the Kami of Water.

On Mount Hayama in 金沢 Kanezawa hamlet, people stay and pray for divination:
How will the weather be? How will the harvest turn out?
According to the divination, they make their plans for the coming year.

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One more 葉山神社 Hayama Jinja in Koriyama

福島県郡山市大槻町葉山39 / Fukushima, Koriyama, Otsukimachi, Hayama


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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -


. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja　神社) - Introduction .

. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .


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Yamanokami taiko drum legends

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Yama no Kami 山の神 God of the Mountain
and taiko 太鼓 the big drum



The big drum is often used for festival music.
. taiko, oodaiko 大鼓、太鼓、大太鼓 big drum .


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. Yamanokami and Tengu 天狗 the Mountain Goblin .


. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

kamikakushi 神かくし mysterious disappearance
If a child did not come home and was nowhere to be found, in former times people thought they have been abducted by a Tengu or by Yamanokami. Villagers went out with bells and drums to search for them. Parents also warn their children not to play hide and seek in the evening any more, in case they may disappear.


............................................................................　Aichi 愛知県
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知多郡 Chita district 美浜町 Mihama

. Tengu sama no isami 天狗様のいさみ flute melody of Tengu .






............................................................................　Kochi 高知県
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幡多郡 Hatta district 大正町 Taisho

taiko 太鼓
In the hamlet of 芳川部落 Hogawa on the other side of the valley they can heard the sound of a big drum at night from about 9 to 10.
They asked a priest for advise. He told them that Yamanokami was angry and that soon something bad would happen to the mountain. They called a special saint to perform rituals of appeasement and the sound of the drum stopped!

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高岡郡 Takaoka district 窪川町 Kubokawa

taiko 太鼓
In a cave called 太鼓堂 Taiko-Do, Drum Hall, the sound of a big drum was heard every month on the 20th day of the old lunar calendar. Wild animals came to play in the water puddles around the cave.
The clever hunters came at night to shoot their pray.





............................................................................　Nagasaki 長崎県

Tengu
When people hear the sound of rinrin like festival flutes and big drums, they say
"Yama no Kami is dancing!"
Others say tengubayashi 天狗ばやし a group of Tengu with festival instruments are passing.

- Two more legends about the Tengubayashi from 茨城県 Ibaraki

多賀郡 Taga district 黒前村 Kurosaki village and 高岡村 Takaoka village
The villgers sometimes hear the Tengubayashi, often from 1 to 2 in the morning.
In Takaoka village there has been a huge landslide on the mountain top, where the Tengu is now venerated.
If it rains for a long time in Takaoka, they say the Tengu is having a festival and beats the big drums.






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

Ta no kami 田の神
Before cutting the weeds around the fields, the farmers walk around the fields with bells and big drums to chase away the insects and animals (虫送りの行事 mushi-okuri).
This is the day when Tanokami comes down to the fields, so the farmers take a rest and say prayers in his honor.






............................................................................　Saitama 埼玉県
.......................................................................
秩父郡 Chichibu district 大滝村 Otaki

Yamanokami ga sawagu 山の神が騒ぐ Yamanokami is making noises
Sometimes Yamanokami makes a loud noise with flute and big drums in the early morning hours.






............................................................................　Toyama 富山県

Tengu 天狗
The words "Tengu" and "Yamanokami" are not said directly, people just say アノヒト "ano hito", "that person".
yatsudaikouchi ヤツダイコウチ means the Tengu beats a large drum with eight colors.
If people hear the sound and go to the forest, they are usually lucky to hunt a bear.
- - - - -
Once a man was taking care of a place all by himself when he heard the sound of the big drum from Yamanokami. It sounded like two beating the drum, Yamanokami and a Tengu.
He was quite amused and did not feel lonely any more.
On cloudy days, the drumming can even be heard during lunchtime.

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東砺波郡 Higashi-Tonami district 城端町 Johan

ヤマノバーバノタイコ，Yamanbaaba no taiko and マトギ matogi
If a Tengu beats the big drum or a mujina 狢 badger gets excited and beats his stomach, the villagers call it Yamanbaaba no taiko ヤマノバーバノタイコ, the mountain hag beating the big drum.
If it can be heard in the evening of a spring day, this is the sign of a good harvest in the coming year.


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- reference source : nichibun yokai database -



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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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Yamanokami kitsune fox legends

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
. 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 kitsune　狐 the fox


赤鬼狐(せきこ) 山神少女

. kitsune densetsu 狐　伝説 fox legends .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .


............................................................................　Aichi 愛知県

豊田市 Toyota

kitsune 狐 a fox
Once a man regularly had the urge to defecate at a place sacred to Yamanokami. Every time as he squatted, he heard a strange sound of petapeta petapeta.
When he came next time, the faeces were gone, someone had eaten them. And sometimes he saw a beautiful young temple acolyte walking by.
Once he peeked between his legs and saw a fox, standing on his front legs, wiggeling with his tail, waiting for the feces - food.




............................................................................ Fukushima 福島県

相馬郡 Soma district 飯舘村 Iitate

shiro-ookami 白狼，shiro-gitsune, shirogitsune 白狐 white wolf, white fox
源頼朝 Minamoto no Yoritomo wanted to defeat a family called Sumitora 墨虎 "Black Tiger".
He brought a Mountain Deity 山神 Yamanokami and an Inari Deity 稲荷神 all the way from Kyoto and prayed for seven days and nights, with out food or sleep.
On the 15th day of the 10th lunar month, a white wolf and a white fox appeared and their footprints lead to a small sanctuary for Sanno 山王祠 high up in the forest.
He thought that was a hint from the Deities, started the battle and won it.

. Minamoto no Yoritomo 源頼朝 . - (1147 – 1199)




............................................................................　Gifu 岐阜県
武儀郡 Mugi district 板取村 Itadori

Some people say Yamanokami himself is a kitsune 狐 fox!




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

yamawaroo ヤマワロ Yamawaro Kappa
Some people say that the Yamawaro is also a 山ん神さん Yama'n Kami San, Yamanokami.
Others say he is just one rank below the real Yamanokami.
He does not play tricks on the humans, as the fox or Tanuki badger does.

. やまわろ / ヤマワロ / 山童 Yama waro "child of the mountain" .





............................................................................　Nara 奈良県

磯城郡 Shiki district

kitsune no yomeiri 狐の嫁入 fox as a bride
Every year on the third day of the New Year the fox takes a bride and Yamanokami is coming down to 天神山 Mount Tenjinyama to look at the lanterns of their procession.
If there are many lanterns there will be a good harvest this year.
If there are few lanterns there will be a bad harvest this year.

. kitsune no yome-iri　狐の嫁入り "the fox taking a bride" .

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大柳生町 Oyagyucho

. Tanokami 田の神 and the fox .





............................................................................　Shiga 佐賀県

. kitsune and 稲荷様 the rice Deity Inari sama .





............................................................................　Tochigi 栃木県

那須郡 Nasu district 大山田村 Oyamada
Once Yamanokami was angry and ordered the fox to kill a child.
Even as the mother held the baby in her arms, it disappeared mysteriously and was later found dead in the well.





............................................................................　Yamanashi 山梨県

道志村 Doshi

kitsune no koe 狐の声 voice of the fox
Yamanokami calls out ofui ofui オフイオフイ; this is the voice of a fox.



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- reference source : nichibun yokai database -




. Abe no Seimei 阿倍晴明 (921 - 1005) .
and his mother, the white fox Kuzu no ha, Kuzunoha　葛の葉

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

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

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 - .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
- #yamanokami #godofthemountains #yamanokamikitsune #yamanokamifox -
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