Japan - Shrines and Temples

14/10/2019

Abukuma river

田村市滝根町菅谷字東釜山 / Higashikamayama Takinemachi Sugaya, Tamura, Fukushima

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The name Abukuma was already known in the Heian period and used in Waka poetry.
The name of the riverwas also spelled
Ookumagawa 大熊川 / 逢隈川 / 合曲川 Okumagawa,

The name refers maybe to oo-kuma 大熊 a type of huge bear, which lived in the mountains of
白河郡の西甲子岳 Fukushima in the Shirakawa district.
kuma 隈（クマ / 曲) may also refer to the many bends of the river

- quote -
人知れず　濡れにし袖の　乾かぬは　阿武隈河の　水にや　有るらむ　　　　　　　
古今和歌六帖　紀貫之　Ki no Tsurayuki
阿武隈に　霧たてといひし　から衣　袖の渡りに　夜もあけにけり　　　　　　　　　
重之集　　源　重之 Minamoto no Shigeyuki
思ひかね　つまどふ千鳥　風さむみ　合曲河の　名をやたづぬる　　　　　　　　　
夫木和歌集　　藤原定家 Fujiwara no Teika
名にしおはば　阿武隈川を　渡りみん　恋しき人の　影や映ると　　　　　　　　　　　　
堀河百首　源顕仲 Minamoto no Akinaka
阿武隈の　霧とはなしに　よもすがら　立ち渡りつつ　よをもふるかな　　　　　　　
後撰和歌集　藤原輔文 Fujiwara no Tsunesuke
ぬれ衣と　いふにつけてや　流れけん　あぶくま川の　名こそ惜しけれ　　　　　　　　　
堀河百首　永縁 Eien
かくしつつ　世をやつくさむ　陸奥の　逢隈川を　いかでわたらむ　　　　　　　　　　　　
中務歌集　中務 Nakatsukasa
- reference source : t-aterui.jp/fukushima。。。 -

Lord Kanemune
君が住む阿武隈河は名のみしてよそながらのみ戀や渡覧
kimi ga sumu abukumagawa wa na nomi shite
yoso nagara nomi koi ya wataruran

My darling dwells by
Abukuma River – known for meeting –
But that is all:
Simply far apart
Will our love ever be?

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. River Abukumagawa 阿武隈川 / 阿武隈河 .

During the Edo period travel along the river Abukumagawa 阿武隈川 was frequent and together with the tax rice Daruma dolls were shipped around.

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- - - - - The river caused incredible damage in October 2019.
. Typhoon Nr. 19 台風19号 Hagibis - 2019 October 06 .

- - - - - Another river overflowing during the typhoon was
. River Chikumagwa 千曲川, Nagano .

- quote -
The Abukuma River (阿武隈川 Abukuma-gawa),
with a length of 234 km (145 mi), is the second longest river in the Tōhoku region of Japan and the 6th longest river in Japan. It runs through Fukushima Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture, rising from springs in the peaks of the Nasu mountains, collecting water from tributaries leaving the Ōu Mountains and the Abukuma Highlands (阿武隈高地 Abukuma-kōchi), then emptying into the Pacific Ocean as a major river. It has a 5,390 km² area watershed, and about 1.2 million people live along its basin.
The Abukuma River
flows north through Fukushima Prefecture's Nakadōri region, past the cities of Shirakawa, Sukagawa, Kōriyama, Nihonmatsu, Date, and Fukushima. The portion of the river flowing between Nihonmatsu and Fukushima forms a deep ravine called Hōrai-kyō (蓬莱峡).
Crossing the northern edge of the long but low Abukuma hills, the Abukuma River then flows into Miyagi Prefecture, past the city of Kakuda and between Iwanuma and Watari before reaching the Pacific. Abukuma has a tributary called the Arakawa River.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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- quote -
Abukuma-do 阿武隈洞 - Abukuma Cave
is a limestone cave located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The cave was discovered on August 15, 1969, northeast of the city of Tamura and was originally named Kamayama Shonyu-do (釜山鍾乳洞). It was designated a natural heritage of the town on February 7, 1971, and renamed Abukuma-do on June 1, 1973.
Visitors can traverse a 600-metre-long path inside the cave as well as a 120-metre-long exploration course to view the stalactites and stalagmites. Each stalactite has taken more than eighty million years to form. Beyond the public areas lie about 2,500 metres of cave that are not open to the public. Nearby Abukuma Cave is the smaller Irimizu Shonyu-do (入水鍾乳洞 - Irimizu Limestone Cave), discovered in 1927. Irimizu Limestone Cave was designated a National Natural Treasure on December 28, 1934. The temperature inside Abukuma-do is around 15 °C and the humidity is above 90%.

- - - History
Abubukuma-dong was discovered in September 1969 from the present Busan quarry site in an area called Abukuma Highlands (阿武隈高地), or Harachitai highlands(原地帯), in the middle of a plateau of geologic formation of irregular limestone deposits, on the west side slope of Mt. Otakine. Since ancient times mining for marble and limestone has been popular in that area. Limestone was also discovered at Abukuma-do. At the year of Abukuma-do's discovery mining in that area was suspended, and a limestone outcrop remains to this day near its parking lot.
The initial discovery of an entrance to the cave is now near the exit of the modern day tourist destination. The cave itself consists of a 12m deep hole, a tunnel running 60m north, and a tunnel running 15m southwest. In March 1970 the Japanese university 's expedition team explored the inside of the cave, and found a main cave ahead of the air hole in the northern end that was regarded as the end point until then. In 1973, four years after the discovery, the inside of the cave was developed for observation and it was opened to the public.
..... A notable feature of Abukuma-do is the existence of boxwork, a rare cave formation composed of thin blades of the mineral calcite that project from cave walls and ceilings, forming a honeycomb or box-like pattern. Boxwork can also be found in Shimukugama in Okinawa and Sugawatari-do (氷渡洞 - Ice Cross Cave) in Iwate Prefecture, but because Abukuma-do is currently the only limestone cave in Japan open to tourists, it is subsequently the only cave in Japan in which you can see boxwork. ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Abukuma kyoo 阿武隈峡 Abukuma gorge
福島県中通り地方に連なる福島盆地と郡山盆地の間を流れ阿武隈川により形成される阿武隈高地と奥羽山脈の間の蛇行・狭窄部の峡谷。阿武隈川の浸食により形成された絶壁の峡谷や奇岩、怪岩などが連なる。蓬莱ダム（飯野ダム）より信夫ダムまでの下流側の峡谷部は蓬莱発電所、信夫発電所の発電用に取水されるため河川流量は少ない。
- wikipedia

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Abukuma koochi 阿武隈高地 / Abukuma sanchi 阿武隈山地 Abukuma highland
宮城県南部の阿武隈川右岸山地（亘理町と岩沼市の境）を北端、茨城県北部の久慈川左岸山地（日立市と東海村の境）を南端として南北170km以上[1]にわたって連なる山地である。その大部分が福島県に属し、おおむね阿武隈川を中心とする盆地である中通り地方と、太平洋沿岸部である浜通り地方との境界線となっている。阿武隈川・久慈川・太平洋に囲まれた紡錘形をした比較的なだらかな山地である。

山容は隆起準平原で北上山地と同様に高地部は全体的に比較的なだらかな地形が続く。阿武隈高地は海底で堆積した大変古い地層が隆起して陸地となり、はじめは日本アルプスのような大山脈だったと考えられるが、その後の長年の浸食作用で老年期のなだらかな地形となり、さらに隆起が進み隆起準平原となったと考えられる。阿武隈高地には侵食による残丘である硬い地質の独立峰が各所に残る。阿武隈高地中央部から西部のなだらかな山容とは対照的に阿武隈高地東部は、更なる隆起と再侵食により深い渓谷を刻む川も多く、阿武隈高地を西から東に抜ける道路の多くは、隆起した高地東部の「畑川断層」・「双葉断層」など断層による断崖状の壁面の急勾配を下っていく[2]。阿武隈高地がかつて海底にあったことを物語るものに、田村市滝根のあぶくま洞などの鍾乳洞、いわき市四倉のアンモナイト、フタバスズキリュウなどの化石産出地などがある。
阿武隈高地は活断層調査結果などより比較的安定な地盤と考えられ、また従来地震による被害の少ない地域でもある。
- wikipedia

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- - - - -　 H A I K U　 - - - - -

. Matsuo Basho in Sukagawa 須賀川 .

. Abukuma Haiku by Yosa Buson .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

.......................................................................　Fukushima 福島県 .....
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伊達町 Date town

furu-usu, furuusu 古臼 an old wooden mortar to pound rice
During the flooding of river Abukumagawa an old mortar was flowing past.
A poor villager picked it up and thought he could use it as firewood. Then he saw blood flowing from the mortar, which had not been broken.
He bowed to it in prayer when the mortar spoke:
"I am the deity to help with birth, so please pray to me in this region!"
The villagers purified some lumber and built a small sanctuary.
This is now the Shrine 水雲神社 Suiun Jinja (Water-Cloud Shrine).

. Ubusunagami, tutelary kami of one's birthplace .

. pounding rice in a wooden mortar .

There are various Suiun Jinja Shrines in Date, Fukushima.

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福島市 Fukushima city 松川町 Matsukawa

In the year 1121, a daija 大蛇 huge serpent came to live in the river Abukumagawa at the waterfall あゆ滝 / 鮎滝 Ayutaki, and brought great harm to the local people.
A courageous villager went to the shrine 黒沼神社 Kuronuma Jinja in retreat until the serpent was gone.
This is the origin of the retreat 羽山ごもり Hayama Gomori.

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

. Shrine Kuronuma Jinja 黒沼神社 .
and Hayama Jinja 葉山神社 Hayama Shrine, Soma, Fukushima, with the retreat Hayama Gomori.

. daija, orochi 大蛇 the huge serpent, large snake .

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石川郡 Ishikawa district 平田村 Hirata

henge ヘンゲ / 変化 another form of the Deity
To be able to see another form of a deity, there is a spell to chant:
「宵之間や都の空にすみもせで心津くしの有明の月　袖ノ下ヨリ　三度　　ロイ」

.......................................................................　Miyagi 宮城県 .....
伊具郡 Igu district 丸森町 Marumori

The boulders of Sanno Gongen, Sanno Iwaya 山王岩屋 are at the very narrow part of the Abukumagawa gorge, where a huge boulder hang on each side.
The messenger of Sanno Gongen, a saru 猿 monkey comes here often and his footprints are in the rock.
The warlord Abe no Sadato 安倍貞任 used this place for the defense of his territory.

. Sanno Gongen 山王権現 and the 日枝神社 Hie Jinja shrines .

. Abe no Sadato 安倍貞任 (1019 - 1062) .

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yama no sei kurabe 山の背比べ comparing the size of the mountains
In the 阿武隈山地 Abukuma Highlands there is one high mountain. One day this 次郎太郎山 Mount Jirotaroyama (529 m) wanted to compare its size with ツボケ山 Mount Tsubokeyama (487 m).
Tsubokeyama tried to cheat and stood on his toes, but could only make it to 487 m high.

- Tsubokeyama

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -
15 丸森町 (01)

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- #abukuma #abukumagawa #abukumariver #hagibis #marumori #tsubokeyama #abenosadato -
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10/10/2019

Osugi Shrine Ibaraki

茨城県稲敷市阿波958番地 / Aba (Awa), Inashiki, Ibaraki

- quote
Osugi Shrine, or popularly called あんばさま“Anba-sama,” is located in Awa, Inashiki City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
It was a “gosha” shrine in the old shrine rank system and after the World War II it was designated as a “Beppyo Jinjya,” meaning that comes under the direct control of “Jinjya Honcho (Association of Shinto Shrines).”
This shrine is the head shrine of all Osugi Shrines that are distributed in Kanto and Tohoku Regions.
The name Osugi (meaning a large cedar) comes from the large cedar tree that stands in the precinct and worshipped as the sacred body of the deity.
It is said that the shrine was first founded in 767, and in 1241 the deities of Oonamuchi no Mikoto and Sukunahikona no Mikoto were invited from Imamiya Shrine in Kyoto and enshrined here.
Since the Edo period the shrine, as the deity of smallpox prevention and waterway traffic, has been widely worshipped by the people living in Kanto Region and on the Pacific side of Tohoku Region. It is said that in the early Edo period the monk Tenkai, who served as a consultant to the Shogun and stayed at Fudoin Temple in nearby town of Edosaki, was on board a ship in Tojo-no-ura, prayed to the large cedar tree in this shrine and successfully achieved a miracle of bringing about rainfall.
He designated this shrine as the guard of “Kimon (ominous direction)” for Edo Castle, and took the position of the resident priest of Annonji Temople, which was an attached temple of this shrine. Due to these links, Annonji Temple has been a Chokkentai temple (directly linked temple) of Nikko-zan Rinnoji Temple, where a mausoleum of the 3rd Tokugawa Shogun is located.
- source : nipponkichi - Oosugi-jinjya　

- - - - - Deities in residence - - - - -
Oonamuchi no Mikoto 大己貴命
Sukunahikona no Mikoto 少彦名命

. Jigen Tenkai 慈眼天海 (1536 – 1643) .

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Fudo-In 不動院 Temple hall for Fudo Myo-O

source : inashiki.com/jb/hudouin...

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shuin　朱印 stamp

omamori お守り　amulets

- - - - - HP of the Shrine
- source : oosugi-jinja.or.jp... -

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夕立やあんば大杉大明神
yûdachi ya anba ôsugi daimyôjin

a cloudburst--
the god of Osugi Shrine
makes dreams come true

The dreams are those of farmers who have prayed for rain.
The Ôsugi Shrine ("Great Cedar Shrine") in Inashiki has a gracious deity (daimyôjin) who makes dreams come true.
David Lanoue

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- quote -
Osugi Shrine in Ibaraki Prefecture
is the only shrine in Japan said to help make dreams come true! It's also known for its ability to break off bad luck, so this is the place to go if you are looking to make your dreams a reality.
- source : matcha-jp.com -

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- Reference : 大杉神社
- Reference : Osugi Shrine

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

. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .

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- - - - - There are other shrines with this name in Japan.

. Osugi Jinja and Benten .
千葉県佐倉市臼井, Chiba, Sakura town, Obukai 498-2

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Osugi Daimyojin 大杉大明神
旧摩耶天上寺 / 摩耶の大杉 Maya no Osugi

source : emiya.co.jp/blog...

. 仏母麻耶山忉利天上寺 Maya Toriten Temple, Kobe .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

. sugi no ki 杉の木と伝説 Legends about the cedar tree .

.......................................................................　Miyagi 宮城県 .....
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仙台市 Sendai city

nekozuka 猫塚 mound for a cat，hebizuka 蛇塚 mound for a serpent
A Samurai who lived nearby had a cat, which one day bit into the sleeve of his wife's kimono and would not let go. So he cut off the head of the cat and it flew up to the ceiling. There he realized that it had bitten into daija 大蛇 a huge serpent, to protect him from harm.
He held a funeral for the cat and had a small Shrine and mound erected at 大杉神社 Osugi Jinja.
The body of the serpent, which he had cut into three parts, was buried in another mound, to the North of the cat mound.

. daija, orochi 大蛇 the huge serpent, great snake legends .

Shorin Jinja and the Nekozuka mound 少林神社の猫塚

8, Wakabayashi Ward, Sendai, Miyagi
猫塚古墳 Nekozuka Kofun
七郷堀の南，現在の若林区文化センターやウルスラ学院のあたりいったいには，【国分小泉屋敷】とよばれる伊達家の大きな別荘（べっそう）がありました。そのすがたをえがいた絵図面が宮城県図書館に残されています。
伊達家の別荘を描いたこの絵図面の一部に猫塚古墳がえがかれているのです。
絵図には【大杉大明神】Osugi Daimyojin として，大きな杉の木のある小山と神社がえがかれています。今は，古墳のおもかげを残していない，猫塚も江戸時代には古墳の形をとどめていたようです。
絵図がえがかれたのは，文政9年（1826）。江戸時代の後半です。
- reference source : sendai-c.ed.jp/~nansho... -

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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -

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- #osugi #osugijinja #osugishrine -
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10/08/2019

Kikuna Shrine Gaman Yokohama

神奈川県横浜市港北区菊名6-5-14 / 6 Chome-5-14 Kikuna, Kohoku Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa

There were originally five shrines in an area of Sugiyama Jinja 杉山神社 Sugiyama Shrine, which is now in 菊名町公園 Kikuna Town Park.
The new Kikuna Shrine is famous for its 24 paintings of chrysanthemums on the ceiling.
kiku 菊 means Chrysanthemum.

ここ菊名の地には、昭和の初期まで神明社(天照皇大神)、杉山神社(日本武尊)、浅間神社(木花咲耶姫命)、八幡神社(譽田別命)、阿府神社（武内宿禰命)の５社が村社として地域の人々の信仰を集めて参りました。中でも記録に残るものとして最も古くからあるのが、阿府（あぶ）神社であり、その歴史は任和元年（８８５年）に遡るといわれております。時の天皇、光孝天皇が師岡に勅使を遣わされ熊野神社を創建なされた時、勅使がその途上、馬具の鎧をお納めになったことからその名が付いたと史書には書かれております。
この５社が昭和１０年、現在は菊名町公園となっている杉山神社の地に合祀され、名も「菊名神社」と改められました。その後、太平洋戦争の戦火を逃れてからは、同所を保健所建設用地として提供するため、当時の八幡神社の地（現菊名神社の地）に社殿を移設、以降この地で菊名の総鎮守として地域の人々とともに歩み、またその生活を見守り続けて参りました。
この間、氏子崇敬者の厚いご協力の下、昭和３２年には社殿の改修および社務所・神楽殿が建設され、信仰の対象としてだけでなく、地域住民の交流と青少年の研修の場としても大きな役割を担うこととなりました。そしてこの度平成２３年には、５０年ぶりの大々的な社殿改修工事を終え、２１世紀に相応しい姿となって生まれ変わりました。
新たに完成した拝殿の天井には、中心に「菊」の花を配し、四方にはがまんさまによって守られる２４枚の天井画が飾られております。テーマは「菊名の絆」です。これは社殿は新しくなっても、菊名の総鎮守として以前と同様、変わらずこの地の人々とともにあることを示しているのです。拝殿には、２４枚の天井画、輪になって咲く菊の花が中心に描かれ、四方は開運招福を呼ぶ四季を背景にしたがまんさまで守られています。
- source : kikunajinja.jp/profile/goyurai...

- - - - - Deities in residence - - - - -
・誉田別命（ほんだわけのみこと）Hondawake no Mikoto
・天照皇大神（あまてらすすめおおみかみ）Omaterasu Omikami
・日本武尊（やまとたけるのみこと）Yamato Takeru no Mikoto
・木花咲耶姫命（このはなさくやひめのみこと）Konohana Sakuyahime no Mikoto
・武内宿禰命（たけのうちすくねのみこと）Takenouchi Sukune no Mikoto

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gaman sama　がまんさま "endure the hardships"

This is a stone statue of an Oni demon, supporting the handwash basin.
Actually, there are also two of them.

They were made around 1800.
It expresses the endurance of the stone figures supporting the handwash basin for so many years without any complaint.

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shuin　朱印 stamp

omamori お守り　amulets

- CLICK on the photo to see more amulets !

- - - - - HP of the Shrine
- source : kikunajinja.jp... -

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- Reference : 菊名神社
- Reference : kikuna shrine yokohama

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

. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .

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- #gamansama #kikuna #kikunashrine -
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20/07/2019

Kawanokami legends

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. Shinto Shrines (jinja　神社) - Introduction .
. kami　神　Shinto deities .
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kawa no kami 川の神と伝説 Legends about the "River Deity"

Kappa 河童 is a“Kawa no Kami” 川の神 / 河の神 (lit. River Deity)
. Kawa no Kami, 水神 Suijin and Kappa .
- Introduction -
Kappa カッパ is often seen as Kawanokami or Mizunokami.

. Mizu no Kami, Mizunokami 水の神 Deity of Water .

- quote -
Kappa
mentioned in the Nihon Shoki 日本書紀 (Chronicles of Japan), one of Japan's earliest official records, compiled around 720 AD.
Other names: Kahaku (Nihongi)
A generic name for kami of rivers and streams.
The lineage of this kami is not described in the classics. Nihongi's record of Emperor Nintoku's reign contains an anecdote regarding the offering of human sacrifices (hitobashira) to the river deity called "Lord of the River" (Jp. kahaku; Ch. Hebo) at the occasion of constructing a riverbank, and Nihongi's record of Empress Kōgyoku likewise notes that during a great drought, prayers were offered without effect to the "Lord of the River." The Man'yōshū includes poems indicating that the river kami serves the emperor, and numerous records from the Nara period reflect the offering of prayers to the kami of famous mountains and great rivers.
- reference source : Kokugakuin - Nakayama Kaoru -

CLICK for more photos !

kahaku, kawa no kami 河伯 River Deity, "river chief"
Kahaku Shushin 河伯主神

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- - - - - ABC List of the prefectures :

. ryuujin 竜神 /龍神と伝説 Ryujin, Legends about the Dragon Deity .
Kawanokami is often seen as the same as the Ryujin Dragon Deity.
When he is offshore in the sea his wave pattern can sometimes be seen. In that case the fishermen sit down and pray to the deity.

......................................................................................... Akita 秋田県
.......................................................................
山本郡 Yamamoto district 二ツ井町 Futatsui town

Once upon a time, there was a year with not enough rain and water, people say the Kappa has come out and eaten all the cucumbers.
Since then farmers take the first two cucumbers of the harvest and throw it into the river shouting:
"川の神 Kawanokami, this is our offering!"

......................................................................................... Chiba 千葉県
.......................................................................
夷隅郡 Isumi district 夷隅町 Isumi town

Kappa is seen as Mizunokami, Kawanokami and an incarnation of a dragon deity.
If children are drowning in a river, this is the malicious deed of Kappa.

......................................................................................... Hyogo 兵庫県
.......................................................................
豊岡市 Toyooka city 竹野町 Takeno town

kawasoso, kawa soso 川ソソ Kamakami is called Kawasoso
He usually suppresses the Kappa 川コ Kawako, but lets him go on the last day of the sixth lunar month.
If someone goes into the river on this day, Kawako will take out his inner organs through the anus. He uses some iron tools to do that.

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

Before peeing into a river, people ask Kawanokami to forgive them, to avoid his wrath.

......................................................................................... Kagoshima 鹿児島県

. Yama no Kami 山の神 God of the Mountain .
and Kawanokami, Kappa legends

......................................................................................... Kumamoto 熊本県
.......................................................................
熊本市 Kumamoto city

Kawanokami no tatari 川の神の祟　the curse of Kawanokami
Once there lived a man in the city called 平川円蔵 Hirakawa Enzo.
One he went to the local shrine and went to cut down the shinboku 神木 sacred tree, saying it was superstition not to cut such a tree.
Soon his wife became bewitched by the Kawanokami from the river 球磨川 Kumagawa and many strange things happened.

. shinboku 神木, shinju　神樹　sacred tree, divine tree .

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

On the 29th day of the 11th lunar month, Kawanokami comes walking along the road.
There is a strange noise like hyuuhyuu heard along the side of the pond.
It looks like a chidori 千鳥 plover with a long, red beek.
Sometimes it more looks like a man with a high hat, followed by many others. If people try to peek at the procession to see it clearly, it becomes invisible.

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- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -

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- Reference : 川の神

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

. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .

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- - - - -　 H A I K U　 - - - - -

焼米を炒るや川の神見そなはす

長谷川零餘子 Hasegawa Reiyoshi (1886 - 1928)

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- #kawanokami #rivergod #riverdeity #flussgott #mizunokami #kappa #yamanokami -
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16/07/2019

Kadota Inari Shrine

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. Shinto Shrines (jinja　神社) - Introduction .
. kami　神　Shinto deities .
- noroi 呪い to curse a person - see below
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Kadota Inari Jinja 門田稲荷神社 Kadota Inari Shrine

栃木県足利市八幡町387-7 / 387 Yawatacho, Ashikaga, Tochigi

下野國一社八幡宮 The first Hachiman shrine in Shimotsuke no kuni.
Founded in 1056, when 源義家 Minamoto no Yoshiie went up to the North to defeat the local people.
In the Western compound of the Hachiman shrine is Kadota Inari, one of the three most important shrines to "cut a bond".
Not only bonds between men and women, but also between a person and illness, too much drinking, gambling addiction and others.

Its best known aspect is the

enkiri ema 縁切絵馬 votive tablets to make a wish to cut a bond"

. enkiri, engiri 縁切り　to cut a bond .

. Minamoto no Yoshiie Hachimantaro 源八幡太郎義家 / 源義家 .

- Deity in residence
倉稲魂神（うかのみたまのみこと） Ukanomitama no Mikoto

- reference -

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. wara ningyoo 藁人形 straw dolls for curses .

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- quote
- - - Death notes: Traditional rituals associated with curses persist in 21st-century Japan
It is a scorching summer afternoon with temperatures crawling toward 37 degrees Celsius. Kadota Inari Shrine is empty except for a chorus of screeching cicadas and the smooth stone statues of foxes guarding its entrance.
Hanging on either side of the shrine are hundreds of small wooden plaques known as ema (picture horses) baking beneath the sun.
A ritual tracing its roots to the Nara Period (710-794) when those who couldn’t afford to donate horses to the gods for good favor began substituting them with cheaper materials, the fastening of these votive tablets inscribed with worshippers’ hopes and prayers can now be found in shrines and temples across the nation.
But at Kadota Inari Shrine, located in the suburbs of Ashikaga, a city in Tochigi Prefecture some 90 minutes by train from Tokyo, visitors won’t find plaques with light-hearted wishes asking for good luck and rosy relationships.
“I’m completely exhausted dealing with K.S., the selfish devil in disguise who looks down on me, shouts at me and complains about each and everything I do. I hate you … I hate you … I hate you from the bottom of my heart, and I pray that you disappear from this world as soon as possible,” one of the plaques reads.
“I pray that my relationship with Hitomi, who betrayed me and wasted a year of my life, is completely severed” reads another. “She must be distanced from all paths leading to happiness. I will never let you become happy. May you suffer for the rest of your life to atone for my tears and agony. Mariko.”
Some wishes are more direct: “I pray that Okabe dies in an accident.”
Others are desperate pleas for help: “I pray that my family’s ties with depression and bipolar disorder come to an end.”
These are fervent, even violent expressions of raw, personal emotions rarely shown in public, and physical evidence of how traditional rituals associated with cursing are well and alive in 21st-century Japan.
--- Ominous origins
Kadota Inari Shrine is considered one of Japan’s three major enkiri, or “tie-cutting” shrines, in addition to Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Taisha and Enkiri Enoki in Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward. However, occult writer Yuki Yoshida says Kadota Inari Shrine stands out in terms of the sheer number of plaques being offered and the level of animosity on display.
“A normal person may become sick of reading so many negative messages left on the plaques, but it’s an opportunity to observe the dark side of the human mind,” Yoshida says. “In fact, a number of dedicated fans visit Kadota Inari Shrine routinely to check the plaques hanging there. While Japan is often considered a secular society, it’s worth learning how there are still many people who seriously indulge in the act of cursing others.”
That said, Yoshida says regardless of how cruel wishes may be, revealing one’s darkest secrets in such fashion and letting off some steam is a healthier alternative to taking physical action.
“It’s an entirely different matter compared to unleashing one’s vented stress in the form of violence,” he says.
That’s what happened on Dec. 7, 2017, when the term “tatari,” or curse, appeared in stories describing a murder-suicide that took place at Tomioka Hachimangu, a well-known shrine in Tokyo’s Koto Ward.
Fifty-eight-year-old Nagako Tomioka, head priestess of the nearly 400-year-old shrine, was ambushed as she got out of a car on the grounds of the shrine and slashed to death by her samurai sword-wielding younger brother, Shigenaga Tomioka, who then stabbed and killed his wife, Mariko, and himself.
Shigenaga became head priest of Tomioka Hachimangu in 1995 but lost his job over money-related troubles.
He held a long-standing grudge against his sister who had taken over his role, and earlier on the day of the incident, asked an acquaintance to drop around 2,800 letters into a post box addressed to parishioners’ businesses and other shrines across the nation.
Reports said the eight-page letter demanded that his sister be banished from the shrine and his son be anointed head priest instead.
“If these demands aren’t met, I shall remain in this world after my death as an onryō (malevolent spirit) and forever exact vengeance against responsible board members and their descendants,” the letter read.
The bizarre case drew widespread attention due to the prominence of the shrine and ominous choice of vocabulary Shigenaga used in his parting message. It also showed how tenaciously the superstition in curses lingered in the modern age.
Earlier the same year, on Jan. 25, a 51-year-old man was arrested in Gunma Prefecture for intimidation. The man had left a straw effigy with a nail thrust through it in the parking lot of an amusement arcade. With red paint, the name of the female owner of the arcade was written on the chest of the doll, along with what appeared to be eyes and a mouth.
The man, a regular at the arcade, had apparently developed unrequited feelings toward the owner that led him to conduct a bare-bones version of one of the most dreaded curse rituals in Japan: ushi no koku mairi, or ushi no toki mairi, which literally means “shrine visit at the hour of the ox.”
According to a book published more than a century ago by U.S. orientalist and lecturer William Elliot Griffis titled “The Religions of Japan From the Dawn of History to the Era of Meiji,” women betrayed by their lovers typically performed this religious act of vengeance at the hour of the ox, which is between 1 and 3 a.m.
“First making an image or manikin of straw, she set out on her errand of revenge, with nails held in her mouth and with hammer in one hand and straw figure in the other, sometimes also having on her head a reversed tripod in which were stuck three lighted candles,” he wrote. “Arriving at the shrine she selected a tree dedicated to a god, and then nailed the straw simulacrum of her betrayer to the trunk, invoking the kami (god) to curse and annihilate the destroyer of her peace.”
Griffis wrote that he had seen rusted nails and pieces of straw struck on trees on multiple occasions.
- - - Straw effigies
Rituals involving straw effigies, or wara ningyō, remain a potent image in popular culture, and its roots can be traced back to the earliest era of recorded history in Japan.
At the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties is an eighth-century doll made of wood with an iron nail shoved through its chest. From the Tatecho archaeological site in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, a wooden tag was discovered that had a drawing of a woman and holes left from wooden nails driven through her right breast and chest.
During the Heian Period (794-1185), straw effigies were crafted during plagues to dispel the sickness, while official shamans known as onmyōji practiced onmyōdō, a form of Japanese cosmology and divination based on the Chinese philosophies of Wu Xing and yin and yang that also utilized paper mannequins as shikigami — beings conjured to exercise tasks ordered by their masters.
While onmyōdō is no longer practiced, Kazuhiko Komatsu, a renowned ethnologist, discovered through his fieldwork in Kochi Prefecture that a faction of onmyodo survived as Izanagi-ryu (the Izanagi school) in the mountainous village of Monobe, where priests still perform exorcisms and cursing rituals.

The practice of ushi no koku mairi goes back to the legend of Hashihime,
a character that first appeared in Heian literature that depicted her as a lonely woman waiting for her lover to return, with later accounts transforming her into a jealous demon.
Her story was later adapted into “Kanawa” (“The Iron Crown”), the noh play by Zeami Motokiyo about a beautiful woman visiting Kifune Shrine in Kyoto at the hour of the ox every night to pray for vengeance against her ex-husband who left her for a different woman.
The play depicts her changing into a rage-filled demon who wears an iron tripod as a crown that holds three burning candles.
Her ex, who fears for his life, seeks the help of master onmyōji Abe no Seimei, who prepares two life-sized straw effigies to diffuse the demon’s wrath.
The symbolic relevance of the wara ningyō as a powerful cursing tool remains intact, and Kifune Shrine is still considered the mecca for the ushi no koku mairi ritual, although it is unclear how many still actively partake in the practice.
Kohei Kikuchi, an expert on dolls and an adjunct lecturer at Waseda University, uses these effigies in a different manner, introducing them as a prop in one of his classes.
He sources wara ningyō online, where they can be bought for as cheap as a few hundred yen from e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Yahoo Auctions and Mercari.
Upon purchasing one, Kikuchi brings it into his classroom and introduces it to students as a “special guest,” drawing nervous laughter. He then nonchalantly throws it to the floor or toward his students from the podium, often generating a few screams.
“I start my lecture by asking my students why they react the way they do,” he says. “The object will have no relevance for a small child. But while growing up, we are exposed to the symbolism of the wara ningyō through various movies, books and television shows that imprint us with the notion that it is something dreadful.”
Kikuchi says he concludes his lecture by comparing the wara ningyō to an information medium akin to newspapers.
“A wara ningyō tells us someone is trying to curse another person,” he says. However, unlike newspapers, the amount of information these straw effigies can provide is limited, he says.
“We don’t know who cursed who and with what intent,” he says. “Perhaps the wara ningyō is being used to curse someone we know, or maybe even ourselves. That ambiguity and lack of information scares us.”
- - - Curse packages
For those looking to curse someone but remain wary of going through complicated rituals, there are online services that conduct curses on the client’s behalf.
Nihon Jujutsu Kenkyu Jukikai is one such service. Founded around three decades ago, the organization now staff around 30 people who undertake ushi no koku mairi and other rituals ranging in price from ¥20,000 to ¥300,000 depending on the skill set of the practitioner and the level of curse being administered, according to a spokesperson for the group.
Suzuki, who declined to reveal his first name citing privacy concerns, says prospective clients can consult Jukikai via instant messaging service Line, email and phone. Around 20 to 30 inquiries are received on an average day, he says, of which around 10 to 20 percent lead to actual contracts, the most popular being the ¥50,000 and ¥100,000 packages.
Clients are asked to provide information such as name, telephone number, address, gender, date of birth and blood type, as well as a brief description of the person they want to target, including their name, age, relationship with the client and gender.
Clients will then pay their dues upon receiving a parcel including a brochure explaining the schedule and procedures regarding the cursing ritual as well as a FAQ. “That’s all they have to do,” Suzuki says.
The ritual itself is conducted in a facility the organization owns in Nara Prefecture, and curious clients can call Jukikai any time to check up on the progress, Suzuki says.
“Contrary to what people may think, around 70 percent of the consultations we receive are romantic, while the rest involve grudges such as trouble with neighbors,” he says.
Meanwhile, a group of monks calling themselves JKS47, or Japan Kitou Society in English, have been gathering routinely in front of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry to protest the government for the restarting of nuclear reactors following meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in 2011.
Formed in 2015, JKS47 — the name perhaps being a reference to the 47 ronin and popular pop-idol group AKB48 — considers itself the successor to a group of monks from the 1970s that cursed leaders of corporations responsible for environmental pollution through esoteric Buddhist rituals.
On a recent Thursday afternoon, a dozen or so members donning black robes and white sashes with the words “the dead shall judge” printed on them gathered by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, musical instruments in hand, to recite sutras, perform music and deliver speeches.
While Buddhism and curses may not sound complimentary, “rituals for the subjugation of one’s enemies is an official category within the fourfold, or sometimes fivefold, ritual system within the esoteric Buddhist tradition,” says Eric Swanson, an assistant professor in the Theological Studies Department at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Take Heian warlord Taira no Masakado, who led a rebellion against the central government in Heian-kyo (today’s Kyoto). According to Swanson, some accounts say the Shingon monk Kancho was dispatched to deal with the unrest and established a goma (fire ritual) hall on Narita mountain where he performed a subjugation ritual.
Masakado was subsequently killed in battle and his head was sent to the ancient capital to be displayed to the public. Legend has it, however, that its eyes glared and teeth ground in anger for several months, until one day the head flew to the east.
Masakado’s kubizuka (the mound where his head is said to rest) remains tucked away in a small plot of land surrounded by skyscrapers in Tokyo’s Otemachi business district. There have been attempts to remove it in the past, but these projects all failed due to accidents and illnesses some have attributed to his angry spirit. To this day, the tiny site is visited by suit-clad office workers offering prayers seeking his divine protection.
Whether or not these rituals are effective lies in the eye of the beholder. But for some, a trip to a shrine to inscribe one’s wishes on a votive tablet may be worth the while.
“Thank you for severing the bad relationships I had at work, I think I can now start afresh,” reads one plaque hanging at Kadota Inari Shrine. “I pray that I can lead a happy life full of good relationships.”
- source : Japan Times

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- Reference : 門田稲荷神社
- Reference : kadota inari shrine

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

. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .

. Hashi Hime, Hashihime 橋姫 / はし姫 "Princess of the Bridge" .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

.......................................................................　Fukushima 福島県 .....
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いわき市 Iwaki city 四倉町 Yotsukura machi town

chinju no sugi ni utareta kugi 鎮守の杉に打たれた釘
40年程前、ぢさまが長わずらいをしたとき、鎮守の杉の木に呪いの釘が打ち付けてあった。それを抜き取ったら、病気は自然と治った。

.......................................................................　Kyoto　京都 .....
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noroi no sugi 呪いの杉 pine to curse a person
. Shrine Jishu Jinja 地主神社 .
in the back of Kiyomizu Temple

.......................................................................　Shiga 滋賀県 .....
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伊香郡 Ika district 西浅井町

mashin no majinai 麻疹の呪い
子供が麻疹から治りかけの頃に、サンダワラを頭にのせて「熱いお湯ではないけれど、煮え湯」というと、熱がとれる。

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -
97 呪い noroi to collect

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- #kadotainarishrine #kadota #curse #noroi #majinai -
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14/07/2019

Hidarugami Hidarubo legends

- quote -
The Hidarugami (ヒダル神, lit. Hunger God), are yōkai referred to as The Hunger Gods.
The Hidarugami are able to convert others into Hidarugami themselves. This is achieved by being near their presence, where the person is overwhelmed with the feeling of starvation, even if they have just recently eaten something. One way to avoid becoming a Hidarugami is by tracing the kanji for rice on the palm of their hand.
- source : gegegenokitaro.fandom.com... -

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

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

Hidarugami ヒダル神 The Hunger Gods
In Tosa, when making a 弁当 Bento food offering for Yamanokami or Hidarugami, there are always a pair of chopsticks added.
This will prevent Hidarumami to take possession of a person. If one fears to have been possessed, one has to throw some part of the clothing behind oneself.
. Yamanokami 山の神 God of the Mountain - Legends .

.......................................................................　Hyogo 兵庫県 .....
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. Hidarugami near 薬王寺 the Temple Yakuo-Ji .

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六甲山 Mount Rokkosan

. bewitched by the gaki 餓鬼 hunger gods .

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

. Shibaori sama 柴折り様 .
and ヒダリガミ Hidarigami.

.......................................................................　Wakayama 和歌山県 .....
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田辺市 Tanabe city
. Hidarugami at 地蔵峠 the pass Jizo Toge .

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -
32 ひだる神 (03) collecting
21 ヒダルガミ
09 ヒダリガミ Hidarigami (01)

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

. kami　神　Shinto deities - ABC-LIST - .

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- #hidarugami #hungergod #hidarukami #hidarubo #ヒダル神 #ひだる神 #ヒダルカミ -
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12/07/2019

Fuku no Kami legends

- quote -
The god of happiness, represented in kyogen 狂言 plays by a masked figure kyogenmen 狂言面.
Fuku-no-kami always has a jovial, laughing expression like that of Ebisu 恵比須, and he is often portrayed using the ebisu mask. There are some masks specifically used for fuku-no-kami, whose features are carved with taut outlines indicating youth and refinement. This mask is used to play the central role in the kyogen play called FUKU-NO-KAMI 福の神.
- source : JAANUS -

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- His opponent is
. Binbogami 貧乏神 / ビンボウノカミ Bimbogami, Deity of Poverty .

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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

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

ibohikida いぼひきだ a monster toad with warts
This toad-monster used black magic. Others say he is Fukunokami and if he lives below the veranda people should not tease or anger him.

. hikigaeru 蟇蛙 Legends about the toad, Bufo vulgaris .

source : Okinawa China School

.......................................................................　Aomori 青森県 .....
.......................................................................

. ushi 牛と伝説 Legends about ox, bull, cow . . .
Once a villager got up early in the morning and saw two cows from his home walking to the neighbours house.
The man thought that Fukunokami must be living there and indeed, the neighbour became rich and prosperous.
His own family became extinct.

.......................................................................　Chiba 千葉県 .....
.......................................................................
山武郡 Sanbu district

Ebisu sama エビス様　Honorable Ebisu
During the New Year, Ebisu walks around the area. To let him have some money, people put out an offering of a square wooden box filled with coins.
Ebisu is also called Ie no Kami 家の神 Kami of the Family.

. Ebisu 恵比寿 and Daikoku 大黒 .

.......................................................................　Ehime 愛媛県 .....
.......................................................................
南宇和郡 Minami-Uwa district 愛南町 Ainan town

Before drawing wakamizu 若水 the first water of the year, people light the water surface with taimatsu 松明 a torch.
In former times they could see Fuku no Kami in the water.

. wakamizu　若水 first drawing of water, "young water" .
drawing the first water of the year at the double-hour of the tiger (tora no koku 寅の刻, from four to six in the morning) ...

.......................................................................　Fukushima 福島県 .....
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南会津郡 Minami-Aizu district 南郷村 Nango village

Binbogami 貧乏神
Once a man heard footsteps at night and went out to have a look, there was a boozu 坊主 priest and he asked him:
"Where are you going?"
He replied "貧乏神 Binbogami" and the man was fast to repeat "Binbogami".
Later the priest came back again. This time he was invited into the home with great hospitality and became the Fuku no Kami of the family.

.......................................................................　Gunma 群馬県 .....
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高崎市 Takasaki city 吉井町 Yoshii town

If one blows the flute in the morning, Fuku no Kami will not come.

.......................................................................　Ibaraki 茨城県 .....
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行方郡 Namegata district 麻生町 Aso town

. Setsubun - oni wa soto 鬼は外 "Demons, get out!"　.
On the day of Setsubun 節分 the Seasonal Divide people make special offerings, especially of hiiragi柊 a holly branch and put them on butsudan 仏壇 the Buddhist family altar, the kamidana 神棚 shelf of the Gods, for the 井戸の神 Ido no Kami and other places to make sure, the demons do not come in.
The offerings of iwashi イワシ are eaten by fuku no kami 福の神 the God of Good Luck.

. oni to hiiragi 鬼と柊 Demon and the Holly branch .

. Ido no Kami 井戸の神 / Idogami 井戸神 Deity of the Well .

.......................................................................　Kyoto 京都府 .....

. Fukunokami and Binbogami .

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

If one taps on the side of the fireplace or beats a drum in the middle of the night, 貧乏神 Binbogami feels happy.
If one blows a flute in the house, Binbogami will come and Fuku no Kami will flee.
If one sings in the morning while still in bed, Binbogami will come.

.......................................................................　Nagano 長野県 .....
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南佐久郡 Minami-Saku district 川上村 Kawakami village

If one tries to heat an empty water pot or hits the handle of the pan, Fuku no Kami will flee.
If one lights a fire for no purpose, 荒神 Aragami sama will send divine punishment.

. Aragami 荒神と伝説 Legends about the Aragami deity .
荒神様 Kojin sama, "rough god", "wild deity" - Hearth deity

.......................................................................　Nagasaki 長崎県 .....
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西海市 Saikai city 西彼町（せいひちょう） Seibi

On the first day of the New Year Fukunokami is walking around, so people have to hide metal things and money.

.......................................................................　Niigata 新潟県 .....
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南蒲原郡 Minami-Kanbara district

If someone hits the bottom of the masu 桝 square wooden box used to measure rice, Fukunokami will run away.

masu with 大黒天 Daikoku the God of Good Luck

. masu 升 / 桝 measuring box .

.......................................................................　Okayama 岡山県 .....
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真庭市 Maniwa town 鹿田 Shikata

. Marishiten 摩利支天 Marishi Ten .
In 落合町 Ochiai town many families venerate Marishi Ten in the home.
In 鹿田の陽堂 Shikata village they venerate him on a great rock in front of the house as Fukunokami.

.......................................................................　Shiga 滋賀県 .....
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高島市 Takashima city

In people let pieces of a matsu no ki 松の木 pine tree smolder in the irori 囲炉裏 open hearth, Fukunokami can use the smoke to come down and bring good luck.

. irori 囲炉裏 / 居炉裏 / いろり open sunken hearth .

.......................................................................　Yamaguchi 山口県 .....
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豊浦郡 Toyoura district 豊田町 Toyota (Toyoda)

Someone said Fuku no Kami had been here and put a mountain of gold on the roots of kaki no ki 柿ノ木 the persimmon tree.
But the man was too afraid to go out and have a look and did not get any.

. Legends about 柿ノ木 the Persimmon Tree .

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

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