Monshin (English spelling)

Japanese: 門神 - もんしん（英語表記）mén shén

In China, this refers to a statue of a god that is hung on a gate to ward off evil. Since ancient times, it has been believed that peaches ward off evil spirits, and there was a custom of placing a peach stalk or a peach man made from a peach branch on the gate. This was later developed into a design, becoming a peach symbol or peach board, and is thought to have further evolved into a spring couplet with auspicious characters written on it and a gate god depicting the two gods, Shinto and Utsurui. These two gods are said to live under a large peach tree on Mount Dushuo in the East China Sea, and they tie up demons that harm people with reeds and feed them to a tiger.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

中国で魔除けのために門扉にはる神像をいう。古くから桃が邪気をはらうと信じられ，その枝で作った〈桃梗（とうこう）〉〈桃人〉を門に立てる風習があった。これがのちに意匠化されて〈桃符〉や〈桃板〉となり，さらにめでたい文字を書いた〈春聯（しゆんれん）〉と〈神荼（しんと）･鬱塁（うつるい）〉の二神を描いた〈門神〉に変化したと考えられる。この二神は，東海の度朔山の大きな桃樹の下にいて，人を害する鬼（き）を葦で縛（しば）り虎に食わせるという。

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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