Awashima Gannin - Awashima Gannin

Japanese: 淡島願人 - あわしまがんにん

...One theory is that Awashima-sama was the wife of Sumiyoshi Myojin, but she fell ill with vaginal discharge and was banished to Awashima in Kumano, where she became the guardian deity of women. From the mid-Edo period, beggar monks called Awashima Gannin traveled around the country carrying a Shinto altar and chanting prayers while preaching about good fortune and merit, spreading this faith. Women suffering from gynecological or venereal diseases offer loincloths or pieces of cloth to Awashima-sama in prayer for recovery, but some also worship her as a deity for safe childbirth and matchmaking, or offer dolls or concave stones to her. ...

From [Needle]

...The 8th of December is also considered a major turning point in the year, and in the coastal areas of Toyama Prefecture, it is said that a fish called Harisenbon (a thousand needles) floats by, and in the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture, it is called Hariseibo, and on this night, in homes with girls, they bake baked rice cakes filled with sweet bean paste and pray for improvement in their sewing skills, or give them to neighbors. In the Edo period, it is said that Awashima gannin (prayer) walked around collecting old and broken needles, and the chant they chanted is recorded in the essay "Zoku Asukagawa." During the war, the custom of Senninbari was performed on the streets to pray for the safety of soldiers going off to war, and this was probably because they believed that needles had magical powers and that they could sew people's souls into them and protect their lives.

From [Needle Memorial Service]

...There is no established theory as to the connection between unlucky days and memorial services for needles, but since there are many cases of old needles being placed at the nearby Awashima shrine and hall, a connection with Awashima faith can be assumed. The base of Awashima faith is Kata Shrine in Wakayama City, which has a strong connection with women, and there is a theory that the deity enshrined there is Harisaiyo, and it is thought that from the mid-Edo period onwards, low-ranking religious figures called Awashima gannin preached about this association with needles. Sewing masters from all over the country adopted this theory, and on unlucky days they would take a break from needlework to worship Awashima and hold memorial services for needles, which likely helped it to become widespread and established. ...

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Awashima Gannin" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…一説に淡島様は住吉明神の妻神であったが帯下（たいげ）の病にかかり，熊野の淡島に流され，女の守り神になったともいう。江戸中期からは淡島願人（がんにん）と称する乞食坊主が，神棚を背負い祭文を唱えながら縁起や功徳を説いて各地をまわり，この信仰を広めた。淡島様には婦人病や花柳病の者が腰巻や布きれを奉納して平癒を祈願するが，安産や縁結びの神として信仰したり，人形や凹形の石を奉納する所もある。…

【針】より

…また12月8日は，一年の大きな折り目とされ，富山県の海岸地方ではハリセンボン(針千本)という魚が流れてくるといい，石川県能登地方では針歳暮（はりせいぼ）といって，この晩女の子のいる家ではあん入りの焼餅をやいて裁縫の上達を祈ったり，近所に贈ったりしたという。なお，江戸時代には淡島（あわしま）願人が，古針，折れ針を集めて歩いたといい，《続飛鳥川》という随筆には，その唱えごとも記されている。　戦争中には出征する兵士の無事を祈って，千人針の風習が街頭で行われたが，これは針に呪力を認め人々の魂を縫い込めて生命を守ろうと考えたのであろう。…

【針供養】より

…厄日と針の供養との結びつきについては定説がないが，古針を近くの淡島（あわしま）祠･堂へ納める例の多いことから，淡島信仰との結びつきが予想できる。淡島信仰の根拠地は女性に縁の深い和歌山市の加太神社で，この祭神を婆利塞女(頗梨采女)（はりさいによ）とする説があり，それを針に付会させて，江戸中期以降淡島願人という下級宗教者が説いて回ったと思われる。この説を各地の裁縫の師匠などが取り入れ，仕事を忌むべき日に針仕事を休んで淡島を信仰し，針の供養をしたのが，これの普及定着を促すことになったのであろう。…

※「淡島願人」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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