![]() ![]() Kappa are Japanese flesh-eating water imps who live in rivers, lakes, ponds, and other watery realms. Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yōkai,īy Michael Dylan Foster. With illustrations of more than two hundred different yōkai 妖怪 (monsters).Ībove illustration courtesy of Kawasaki City Museum.Ībove two photos were scanned from the English book entitled Published in 1776, the Gazu Hyakkiyagyō is a four-volume set Japan’s earliest illustration of a kappa. 和漢三才図会, circa 1713, a 105-volume encyclopedia complied by Terajima Ryōuan 寺島良安. Please see the Suijin Page for details on Japan’s Suijin traditions. Some believe the Kappa, who didn’t appear as a popular icon until much later in the Edo Period (1615-1868), is none other than the river deity Kawa no Kami. The Kappa, however, is more accurately described as the Kawa no Kami 川の神 (River Deity), a term mentioned in the Nihon Shoki 日本書紀 (Chronicles of Japan), one of Japan's earliest official records, compiled around 720 AD. The most powerful, universal, and benevolent Suijin in Japan is known as Mizu no Kamisama 水の神様 (Goddess/God of Water). This difficulty is compounded by the lack of Shintō artwork or written records prior to the 8th century. Not surprisingly, this ongoing mixture of traditions makes it difficult to identify the origins of these “syncretic” deities. However, with the great influx of Korean and Chinese people into Japan starting around the 2nd century AD, and with the subsequent introduction of Buddhism in the 6th century, Japan’s many indigenous water kami began to slowly absorb attributes from these emigrants and from Buddhism. , women have played an important role in the history of Suijin worship in Japan. Institute for Japanese Culture & Classics (Kokugakuin University)Īlso see their Suijin Database Listing. According to the Institute for Japanese Culture & Classics (Kokugakuin University) After the water was drained, a pipe was stuck in the hole before it was filled up, so that Suijin-sama, who might have been trapped inside, could find a way out." Gabi-san also discovered a web site (no long online) claiming that this toilet-water Suijin takes the form of good bacteria - bacteria that cleanses the water for reuse in the soil.Īlso see Gabi's SUIJIN God of Water page.). With rice wine (Japanese sake) and purifying salt and a lot of mumbling prayers, the deity was informed that s/he was to be relocated to the wet rice paddies further down the hill. But before doing anything, we were informed, we had to pacify the Suijin-sama living in the bog. The local carpenter decided to drain the sewage water, fill the hole up with earth, and level it with the rest of the ground. It was just a small pond in the ground, with two beams over it where you had to balance real hard while performing your job. Gabi Greve, a long-time resident of Japan: "When we remodeled our old Japanese farmhouse, we had to do something about the old toilet. ![]() The below story comes from site contributor Dr. Temple of Kaze-no-Kami in Mantis lands.One of the most curious forms of Suijin is said to manifest itself inside sewage water.Kaze-no-kami's followers believed that the fortune of Wind shall be reborn, and constantly sought for any sign of the reborn kami. Kaze-no-kami was slain by Fu Leng during his assault against the Heavens in 1159, and his duties were taken up by the elder Kami. A small sect of the Brotherhood of Shinsei was formed, the Order of the Wind. The few monks who worshipped the Fortune tended to congregate in secluded mountain temples or shrines situated in the center of empty, wind-swept plains. No shrine to this fortune was greater than another. Kaze-no-kami ignored mortal prayers to spare its wrath hurricanes and great winds. It and its two brethren, Musubi-no-Kami and Yama-no-Kami, were among the most powerful of the Lesser Fortunes. They were ancient beings that predated the Fall of the Kami, primordial beings worshiped by primitive man and accepted as Fortunes by Hantei Genji when he embraced the teachings of Shinsei. Kaze-no-kami was one of the three so-called Unnamed Fortunes.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |