Hayama faith

Japanese: 葉山信仰 - はやましんこう

A faith with a deity-related character found mainly in the southern Tohoku region. Hayama is written as Hashiyama, Hayama, or Fumotoyama, but it means a mountain near a village as opposed to a deep mountain or mountain (miyama). Many are worshipped in small shrines on the mountains outside villages, and the deities worshipped are Hayamatsumi-no-kami and Sukunabikona-no-mikoto, and are said to be Yakushi Nyorai (Medicine Buddha) as their original deity. There are shrines in Murayama City, Yamagata Prefecture that claim to have been invited from Hayama, but no historical documents have been found that show a direct connection to Hayama Shugendo. A distinctive feature of Hayama faith is the oracle ritual in the divination.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

東北地方南部を中心に分布する作神的性格をもつ信仰。葉山は端山，羽山，麓山などと記されるが，奥山や深山（みやま）に対する里近くの端山を意味する。多くは村はずれの山の上に小祠を設けてまつられ，祭神を羽山祇神，少彦名（すくなびこな）命とし，薬師如来を本地と説く。山形県村山市の葉山からの勧請（かんじよう）をいう社もあるが，葉山修験との直接の関係を示す史料は見いだせない。葉山信仰の特徴は作占における託宣儀礼にある。

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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