Tochigami (English spelling) Earth god

Japanese: 土地神 - とちがみ（英語表記）earth god

The god of the earth and the guardian deity of villages. He is also the god of grains and fertility, bringing prosperity to people. The spirits called To in Borneo have power over humans, bringing not only good will but also misfortune, and are believed to reside in all places, including graves, mountains, rivers, forests, caves, and the sea. The concept of the spirit called Pi, which is widely distributed among the Thai peoples of the Indochina Peninsula, is also a kind of earth god. The gods called Shashoku in China are also gods of the earth's harvest and are deeply worshipped. In Japan, belief in earth gods has been seen since ancient times, and there are many cases where distant ancestors and pioneer ancestors are worshiped and the nature of the earth god is explained by linking them to their graves and houses. The earth gods are called Jishu-sama in western Japan and Chijin in the Kanto region, and have the character of agricultural gods.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

大地の神であり，村落の守護神のこと。穀物や豊饒の神でもあり，人々に繁栄をもたらす。ボルネオのトーと呼ばれる精霊は，人間に対して威力をもっており，善意ばかりでなく不幸をももたらし，墓，山，川，森，洞窟，海などあらゆる場所に宿っていると信じられている。インドシナ半島のタイ諸族に広く分布しているピーという精霊の観念も一種の土地神である。中国の社稷 (しゃしょく) と呼ばれる神々も大地収穫の神であり，厚く信奉されている。日本では古くから地神 (じがみ) 信仰がみられ，遠祖や開拓先祖を祀り，その墓地や家と結びつけて地神の性格を説く事例が多い。地神は西日本では地主様，関東ではチジンと呼ばれ，農耕神としての性格をもつ。

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