Kasuga faith

Faith in the deity enshrined at Kasuga Taisha Shrine (Kasuga Daimyojin). The founding of Kasuga Taisha Shrine began with the welcoming of the deity of Kashima, Hitachi (Ibaraki Prefecture), as the clan deity of the Fujiwara clan, and originally the faith was based on ancestor worship. Later, as the idea of ​​syncretism between Shinto and Buddhism developed, Kofuku-ji Temple preached that Kasuga Daimyojin was the deity who protected Hosso, and the Buddhist title Jihimangyōbosatsu (Bodhisattva of Mercy) was dedicated to him. Eventually, the miraculous powers and good fortune of Kasuga Daimyojin began to be preached, Himegami in the fourth shrine of Kasuga Taisha was made Ise no Okami, and the relationship between Ameno-Koyane-no-Mikoto in the third shrine and Amaterasu-Omikami was preached, leading to a connection with Ise faith. From the time of the construction of the third shrine in the Jisho era (1177-81), the Fujiwara clan began to hold Kasuga rituals with the Kasuga Goshin'ei and Kasuga Mandala as the principal deities, and along with the Ise and Hachiman faiths, the Three Shrines faith developed. This faith spread widely among the common people as the Three Shrines oracles were spread. Along with the honesty of Ise and the purity of Hachiman, the divine virtue of Kasuga was preached as mercy. Furthermore, through works such as "Kasuga Gongen Reigenki," Kasuga faith was expressed in pictures and writing, and the belief in mercy, which it particularly emphasized, has influenced many aspects of culture.

[Ishu Ochiai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

春日大社の祭神（春日大明神(だいみょうじん)）に対する信仰。春日大社の創建は、藤原氏の氏神として、常陸(ひたち)（茨城県）鹿島(かしま)の神を迎えたのに始まり、原初的には、祖先崇敬を基盤とした信仰といえる。のち神仏習合思想の発展のなかで、興福寺は、春日大明神を法相(ほっそう)擁護の神であると説き、慈悲万行菩薩(じひまんぎょうぼさつ)の仏称が捧(ささ)げられたりした。やがて春日大明神の霊験(れいげん)や縁起(えんぎ)が説かれるようになり、春日大社第四殿の比売神(ひめかみ)が伊勢(いせ)大神とされ、第三殿の天児屋根命(あめのこやねのみこと)と天照大御神(あまてらすおおみかみ)の関係が説かれるなどして、伊勢信仰との関連が生じた。治承(じしょう)（1177～81）の式年造営のころより、藤原氏を中心に春日御神影(ごしんえい)や春日曼荼羅(まんだら)を本尊とする春日祭祀(さいし)が行われ、伊勢、八幡(はちまん)信仰とともに三社信仰の展開をみた。この信仰は、三社託宣の流布により広く庶民の間にまでも浸透していった。伊勢の正直、八幡の清浄とともに、春日の神徳は慈悲として説かれた。また、『春日権現霊験記(ごんげんれいげんき)』などによって、春日信仰が絵や文字に表現され、とくに強調された慈悲の信仰は、文化の多方面に影響を与えてきた。

［落合偉洲］

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