Fashion god - Hayarigami

A general term for gods and Buddhas that suddenly appear, become explosively popular in a very short period of time, and attract fanatical faith. Well-known examples include Tokoyogami, which appeared in the 7th century, Shidaragami in the 10th century, Fukutokugami in the 11th century, Kuwagami in the early modern period, and "Eejanaika" at the end of the Edo period. By their nature, the area of ​​faith is limited to a certain region, but there are always religious figures who create and publicize miracles. The appearance of popular gods can be divided into (1) those that fly into the sky, (2) those that wash ashore at sea, and (3) those that appear in the earth or water, and it is notable that they coincide with periods of heightened social tension. In addition, in the early modern period, temples with unstable economic foundations would sometimes attach miraculous powers to their personal Buddha statues to bring worldly benefits, turning them into popular deities and gaining followers.

[Masaru Sasaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

突如として出現し、ごく短期間に爆発的に流行して熱狂的な信仰を集める神や仏の総称。よく知られているものに、7世紀に現れた常世神(とこよがみ)、10世紀の志多羅神(しだらがみ)、11世紀の福徳神、それに近世の鍬神(くわがみ)や幕末の「ええじゃないか」などがある。その性質上、信仰圏は地域的に制約されるが、かならず霊験(れいげん)をつくりだし喧伝(けんでん)する宗教者の存在が認められる。流行神の出現形式は、〔1〕天空飛来型、〔2〕海上漂着型、〔3〕土水中出現型に分けられるが、なんらかの社会的緊張感が高まる時期と符合することは注目される。なお、近世には、経済的基盤の不安定な寺院が、持仏(じぶつ)などに現世利益(げんぜりやく)的な霊験を付会(ふかい)して流行神を仕立て上げ、信者を獲得するといったこともみられた。

［佐々木勝］

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