Dōsojin

Dōsojin
The Dōsojin is on the left

Dōsojin (道祖神?, road ancestor kami) is a generic name for a type of Shinto kami popularly worshiped in Kantō and neighboring areas where, as tutelary deities of borders, they are believed to protect travelers and villages from epidemics and evil spirits.[1] [2] Also called Sae no kami or Sai no kami (障の神・塞の神?), Dōrokujin (道陸神?) or Shakujin (石神 stone kami?), they are often represented as a human couple, by carved male or female genitals, large stones or statues, or even tall poles along a road.

Dōsojin can sometimes be enshrined in small roadside Shinto shrines called hokora. When shaped like a phallus, they are associated with birth and procreation, and therefore marital harmony.[3]

Contents

Important dōsojin

Sae no Kami

In modern times, Dōsojin have become fused in popular belief with a different deity having similar characteristics called "Sae no kami", [2] whose birth is described in the Kojiki. When kami Izanagi-no-mikoto sought to leave after going to the realm of the dead (Yomi no Kuni) to visit his spouse Izanami-no-mikoto, he was chased by the demoness Yomotsushikome (黄泉醜女 lit. Yomi ugly woman?).[2] To stop her, he threw her a stick from which Sae no Kami was born. For this reason, he is the kami who prevents the passage of the spirits of the dead into the world of the living, and therefore a god who is a protector of boundaries. He is represented by large rocks set at the edges of villages. Because of the rocks' elongated shape, he came to be associated also with childbirth, children and matrimonial happiness.[2] As a consequence, he was in turn associated also with Jizō, the Buddhist god who is the protector of children.[3]

Jizō

Jizō is the Japanese version of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, a Buddhist god worshiped mainly in East Asia.[4] His assimilation within a group of kami is an example of the Japanese syncretism of Buddhism and Shinto (shinbutsu shūgō). Originally from India, in Japan he was given new attributes, and he is known as the guardian of unborn, aborted or prematurely dead children. Often found along roads in Japan, he has become a dōsojin.

Chimata no Kami

Chimata-no-kami (岐の神 god of crossroads?), according to the Kojiki, was born when kami Izanagi threw away his trousers to wash himself after returning from Yomi, the land of the dead. The Nihongi and Kogoshūi tell the same myth, but call the kami Sarutahiko.[5]


References

  1. ^ Kawamura, Kunimitsu: "Dōsojin". Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kokugakuin University, retrieved on June 30, 2011
  2. ^ a b c d Iwanami Kōjien (広辞苑?) Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version. "Sae no kami" and "Dōsojin"
  3. ^ a b Bocking, Brian (1997). A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Routledge. ISBN 978-0700710515. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0700710515. 
  4. ^ Irons, Edward (2008). Encyclopedia of Buddhism - Ksitigarbha. Facts on File. 
  5. ^ Nakayama, Kaoru: "Chimata no kami". Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kokugakuin University, retrieved on June 30, 2011

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dōsojin — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Dōsojin en Karuizawa (Nagano, Japón). El Dosojin o dōsojin (道祖神 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Dosojin — Durch Steine (mit Shimenawa) repräsentierte Dōsojin bei Karuizawa (Nagano) Dōsojin bzw. Dōsoshin (jap. 道祖神), in manchen Gegenden Japans auch Sai no kami (賽の神) bzw. Sae no kami (障の神), Dōrokujin (道陸神; „Straßen Land Kami“) oder Shakujin (石神; „Stein… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dōsojin — Durch Steine (mit Shimenawa) repräsentierte Dōsojin bei Karuizawa (Nagano) Dōsojin bzw. Dōsoshin (jap. 道祖神), in manchen Gegenden Japans auch Sai no kami (賽の神) bzw. Sae no kami (障の神), Dōrokujin (道陸神; „Straßen Land Kami“) oder Shakujin (石神; „Stein… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dosojin —    The ancestors of roads, also known as sae no kami or dorokujin and often represented as an old couple. As kami of roads, borders, mountain passes and other transitional spaces (see sae no kami) they protect the village against pestilence and… …   A Popular Dictionary of Shinto

  • Dosojin — n. Japanese God of roads and borders who also protects infectious and fatal spirits coming from the outside …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Chimata-no-kami — Dōsojin, uno de los Chimata no kami. Chimata no kami (岐の神, Chimata no kami …   Wikipedia Español

  • Doroku-jin — Durch Steine (mit Shimenawa) repräsentierte Dōsojin bei Karuizawa (Nagano) Dōsojin bzw. Dōsoshin (jap. 道祖神), in manchen Gegenden Japans auch Sai no kami (賽の神) bzw. Sae no kami (障の神), Dōrokujin (道陸神; „Straßen Land Kami“) oder Shakujin (石神; „Stein… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dorokujin — Durch Steine (mit Shimenawa) repräsentierte Dōsojin bei Karuizawa (Nagano) Dōsojin bzw. Dōsoshin (jap. 道祖神), in manchen Gegenden Japans auch Sai no kami (賽の神) bzw. Sae no kami (障の神), Dōrokujin (道陸神; „Straßen Land Kami“) oder Shakujin (石神; „Stein… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Doso-jin — Durch Steine (mit Shimenawa) repräsentierte Dōsojin bei Karuizawa (Nagano) Dōsojin bzw. Dōsoshin (jap. 道祖神), in manchen Gegenden Japans auch Sai no kami (賽の神) bzw. Sae no kami (障の神), Dōrokujin (道陸神; „Straßen Land Kami“) oder Shakujin (石神; „Stein… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Doso-shin — Durch Steine (mit Shimenawa) repräsentierte Dōsojin bei Karuizawa (Nagano) Dōsojin bzw. Dōsoshin (jap. 道祖神), in manchen Gegenden Japans auch Sai no kami (賽の神) bzw. Sae no kami (障の神), Dōrokujin (道陸神; „Straßen Land Kami“) oder Shakujin (石神; „Stein… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”