Karakami - Karakami

Japanese: 韓神 - からかみ

A god who appears in the Kojiki and the Engishiki Shinmeicho. "Kan" means Korea. Therefore, the name of the god means a god of the Korean country. A god worshipped by immigrants from the Korean peninsula and people of his lineage. In the Kojiki, his name is listed as the second child born to Otoshi-no-kami, the son of Susanoo, and Inuhime, and together with his third child, Sofuri-no-kami, who was named after Jobuk (present-day Seoul), the capital of the Silla Kingdom, this reflects the close relationship with ancient Korea. In the Engishiki Shinmeicho, the names of Sono-jinja Shrine and Kan-jinja Shrine are listed as gods residing in the Imperial Household Ministry, but the origin of Kan-shin being enshrined in the Imperial Household Ministry can be found in Oe no Masafusa's Goka-jidai. According to this, this god had been enshrined in the Imperial Household Ministry since before the Engi era (901-923), but when they tried to move it to another location when the capital was moved, they received a oracle from this god that he wanted to protect the emperor here forever, so they decided to enshrine him in the Imperial Household Ministry.

(Takashi Sasaki)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

『古事記』や『延喜式』神名帳などにみえる神。「韓」は朝鮮の意。よって,神名は朝鮮国の神の意。朝鮮半島からの渡来人およびその系統の人々によって祭られた神。『古事記』には,須佐之男の子である大年神と伊怒比売との間に生まれた第2子としてその名が挙げられており,新羅国の都である徐伐(現在のソウル)をそのまま名とした第3子の曾富理神と共に,古代朝鮮との密接な関係を反映する。『延喜式』神名帳には,宮内省にいます神として園神社,韓神社の名が挙げられているが,韓神が宮内省に祭られるようになった由来は大江匡房の『江家次第』にみえる。それによれば,この神は延喜(901～923)以前から宮内省に鎮座していたが,遷都の際に他所へ遷そうとしたところ,自分はずっとここで帝王を護りたいというこの神の託宣があったので,宮内省に祭ることになったという。

(佐佐木隆)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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