Household god - Ie no Kami

A god believed to protect a family. The main ones are the hearth god, the house god, the toilet god, and the storeroom god. The hearth god is the most common, and in Western Japan it is also called Koujin. The idea of ​​the hearth in the dirt floor as a household god developed because of the fear of fire and modesty. There is also a theory that the "he" in "ie" (he) is synonymous with the "he" in "hetsui" and "heya". In some regions, kamaotoko (masks), talismans, and heisoku (sacred offerings) are placed on top of the hearth or on its pillars, in other regions (Okinawa) the hearth is the first place to be worshipped at the time of a wedding, and in other regions all the ashes are replaced when a person dies as an ancestral god. In the Tohoku region, "starting a hearth" means to build a family, and fire and ashes are separated for the branch family. He is also called Dokujin by Onmyoji (exorcists). The rice field god (who alternates with the mountain god in spring and autumn), the water god, and the year god are also connected to Aragami as the household god, and are also syncretized with ujigami, ubusunagami, jijin, kami, misaki, and other deities. The same is true of the hearth as the place where the fire resides, and there is a belief that the Otoshi no Kami (Great New Year's God) visits through a skylight of smoke, and that the Jizaikagi (hook) is called Kagitsukesama or Okansama, and is the place where the household god stays.

House gods placed in stone shrines or caves in the corners of gardens are also gods who protect their clans and houses, and are worshiped in response to the changeover between mountain gods and rice field gods in spring and autumn. In some cases, these have developed into tutelary gods or local deities. In western Japan, storerooms are used to worship the household's toshigami, rice field gods, and ujigami. In some regions, a pair of clay dolls of a man and a woman are displayed in the corner of the toilet (Sendai), and in some regions they are called oheya gods (Tochigi). In the Tohoku region, the room where guests are entertained is used as a room for the household gods, and a kamidana is enshrined there. Zashiki-warashi, believed to be a type of monster that dwells indoors, are also confused with kappa in the Iwate and Akita regions as guardian spirits that bring prosperity to the home. It is thought that this is a confusion between the mountain gods who change over in spring and autumn and the gods who go out to the rice fields to become water gods. In any case, the form of the household god has changed over time as various legends have become intertwined in complex ways, and it is not possible to define it into a single concept.

[Shogo Watanabe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

一家を守護すると信じられてきた神。主として竈神(かまどがみ)、屋敷神、厠(かわや)の神や納戸(なんど)神など。一般的に多いのが竈神で、西日本では荒神(こうじん)ともよぶ。土間の竈には火に対する畏怖(いふ)と慎みから、これを家の神とする観念が発達した。イエ（ヘ）の「ヘ」は、ヘッツイ、ヘヤの「ヘ」と同義とする説もある。竈の上や柱にカマヲトコ（面）や、神符、幣束(へいそく)を置く地方もあるし、嫁入りのとき最初に竈に拝礼する地方（沖縄）、祖霊神として死者が出ると灰を全部取り替える地方などもある。東北地方では「竈をおこす」とは一家をたてるの意で、分家に火と灰を分ける。陰陽師(おんみょうじ)によって土公神(どくじん)ともよばれる。水田耕作の田の神（春秋に山の神と交替）・水の神や歳神(としがみ)も家の神としての荒神に結び付いているし、氏神、産土(うぶすな)神、地神、作神、ミサキなども習合している。火の所在場所としてのいろりも同じで、煙の天窓を通して大歳(おおとし)の神が訪れる考え方があり、自在鉤(じざいかぎ)のことをカギツケサマ、オカンサマといい、家の神がこもるところとする信仰もある。

　庭の隅の石祠(いしほこら)や洞穴に置かれた屋敷神も同族や屋敷を守護する神で、春秋の山の神と田の神の交替期に呼応して祀(まつ)る。これが発展して氏神、産土神になる例もある。納戸も、西日本では家の歳神、田の神、作神を祀る。厠の隅に男女一対の土人形を飾ったり（仙台）、オヘヤ神（栃木）としている地方もある。東北地方では接客の出居(でい)を、家の神の間として神棚を祀る。また、屋内にいる妖怪(ようかい)の一種と信じられてきた座敷童子(ざしきわらし)も、家を繁栄させる守護霊として、岩手、秋田地方では河童(かっぱ)と混同されたりしている。春秋交替の山の神が、田に出て水の神となる姿と混同したものと考えられる。いずれにしても、家の神の形態は、種々の伝承が複雑多岐に絡み合いながら変遷してきて、一つの概念には定められない。

［渡邊昭五］

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