![]() ![]() The Nara National Museum contains a rather terrifying emaki screen illustration dating from the 12 th century showing the “Divine Punishment Star” deity Tenkeisei devouring with obvious relish disease-bearing demons.Įventually, Gozu Tenno came to be identified with Tenkeisei, a protector against disease. Other sources claim that the shrine was originally located in Harima Province, which is now the southwestern part of Hyogo Prefecture, where it was known as the “Silla Shrine.”īy all indications, when the Gozu Tenno cult first started, Gozu Tenno was a much-feared deity, and it took quite some time before he came to be seen as a savior. The intriguing question remains: Why was a Korean official bringing the mitama (spirit) of a Japanese kami to this area? That is despite the fact that in the past it was specifically referred to as the Gozu Tennosha. In any event, try as you might, you won’t find any explanations about Gozu Tenno on the signs within the precincts of Yasaka Shrine. Other sources add that this man came from Oxhead Mountain in the kingdom of Silla. The Yasaka Shrine’s own website says that an envoy from Korea named “Irishi” brought the spirit of Susanoo-no-Mikoto from Korea. So, it is not clear whether the clan was named after the geography or the other way around. Yasaka means “Eight Slopes” and there are eight of these in this area, including Kiyomizuzaka. They belonged to the Yasaka clan according to one account. Many scholars believe that the district where Yasaka Shrine is located in Kyoto was first settled by immigrants from the Korean Peninsula. Later he was transformed into a god who would protect against disease if honored properly. ![]() This deity arrived in Japan in the form of a yakubyo-gami or god who brought sickness. Research concerning Gozu Tenno, especially prior to the end of World War II, has been surprisingly scanty.įrom what we do know, the general opinion seems to be that the Gozu Tenno cult began in India and then made its way via China and perhaps Tibet to the Korean Peninsula, being influenced by Chinese religion along the way. There are many theories and opinions concerning the origin of Gozu Tenno, but very few hard facts. Was this just a fabrication designed to hijack the time-honored Gozu Tenno cult with which Susanoo-no-Mikoto had no connection whatsoever? So, in effect, what the Yasaka Shrine authorities claimed to be doing was the reverse of the shinbutsu shugo process-substituting the original form of the kami for the foreign import-Gozu Tenno. Harisai Tenjo (Harisaijo) Origins of Gozu Tenno Soon after taking power in 1868, the Meiji government implemented a strict policy of shinbutsu bunri or “separation of Shinto and Buddhism.” Although moderation ultimately prevailed, for a time fanatics even went about destroying temples and smashing Buddhist statues and other Buddhism-related art works. The ideology of the Meiji Restoration involved not only restoring the rule of the emperor but also purifying Japanese culture by getting back to its roots, even when it was not clear what those roots might be. For example, Amaterasu Omikami, the Sun Goddess and divine ancestor of the imperial line, was sometimes equated with the cosmic Buddha Vairocana (Dainichi Nyorai). Referred to as shinbutsu shugo (an amalgamation of Shinto and Buddhism), or less kindly as shinbutsu kongo (jumbling together Shinto and Buddhism), this syncretism most often took the form of Shinto kami being considered as local manifestations of the universal buddhas, bodhisattvas and other members of the Buddhist pantheon. Eventually, the fusion of the two sets of beliefs advanced to such a degree that it was often difficult to tell the two apart. ![]() That is debatable as we shall see.Īlmost as soon as Buddhism was introduced into Japan around the sixth century, a process of assimilation with the native kami cults (which came to be collectively referred to as Shinto) began. The Yasaka Shrine claims that the two groups of three kami are really one in the same. They were Gozu Tenno, whose name literally means “Bull-Headed King of Heaven,” his consort Harisaijo, and their eight offspring, the Hachioji (who together count as one unit). However, prior to the Meiji Restoration, a different trio of deities had been so honored for centuries. The three kami honored in today’s Gion Festival are Susanoo-no-Mikoto (the chief god honored at Yasaka Shrine), his wife Kushinadahime-no-Mikoto, and their eight children, collectively known as the Yashira-no-Mikogami or Hachioji. ![]()
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