Mountain God - Yamanokami

A god who rules over the mountains. It is a folk belief found throughout the country, and in many areas the mountain god is said to be a goddess. However, in some places the god is a male, and in other cases they are a married couple. In areas where the mountain god is a goddess, it is said that this god is jealous because she is not good looking, and does not like women to enter the mountains. There are some differences in belief in the mountain god between woodcutters, charcoal burners, hunters, and other people who work in the mountains, and people who work in the fields. The mountain god believed in by farmers is said to come down from the mountains in early spring to become a rice field god, helping with work in the fields, and then return to the mountains once the autumn harvest is over to become a mountain god. People who work in the mountains do not say that the mountain god becomes a rice field god.

It is said that you should not enter the mountains on the festival day of the mountain god. On this day, the mountain god counts the trees on the mountain or plants them. The festival is held on various days such as the 7th, 9th, or 12th, but in the Tohoku region it is usually held on the 12th, and the mountain god is called Juunisama. Juunisama is a goddess who gives birth to 12 children a year. In honor of this, 12 rice cakes are offered at the festival of the mountain god. It is said that the mountain god does not like women to participate in the festival. In the Tsugaru region, people do not like 12 people entering a mountain hut, and when gathering things, the number 12 is avoided. Offerings to the mountain god include rice porridge and rice cakes throughout the country, but the god is particularly fond of a fish called sea scorpion. It is said that if a woman eats an offering to the mountain god, she will give birth to a violent child. From Kanagawa Prefecture to Yamanashi Prefecture, an event on the 21st of the New Year is held called the Mountain God's Crown Drop, where bows and arrows are made from bamboo and offered to the mountain god. On this day, the mountain god goes hunting. Since the god shoots his bow without caring if his crown falls off, it is said that it is dangerous to go into the mountains in case he is hit by an arrow. In the Hakata region of Kyushu, December 24th of the lunar calendar is called the Mountain God's Washing Day, and it is said that people also refrain from entering the mountains on that day.

[Oto Tokihiko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

山を支配する神。全国にみられる民間信仰で、多くの土地では山の神は女神だという。しかし男神という所もあり、また夫婦(めおと)神としている例もある。山の神を女神としている地方では、この神は容貌(ようぼう)がよくないので嫉妬(しっと)深く、女人が山に入るのを好まないという。山の神信仰については、山仕事をする木こり、炭焼き、狩人(かりゅうど)などと、農作をする人々との間では多少の違いがある。農民の信ずる山の神は、春先山から下り田の神となって田畑の仕事を助け、秋の収穫が終わると山へ帰り山の神となるという。山仕事をする人々は、山の神が田の神になるというようなことはいわない。

　山の神の祭日には山へ入ってはならぬという。この日山の神は山の木を数えるとか、木を植えるとかいう。祭りは7日、9日、12日などまちまちであるが、東北地方では多く12日で、山の神を十二様とよんでいる。十二様は女神で1年に12人の子を生むという。これにちなんで山の神の祭りには12個の餅(もち)を供える。山の神は祭りに女子が参加することを好まないという。津軽地方では山小屋に12人の者が入るのを嫌ったり、物をそろえる場合など12という数を避けるようにしている。山の神への供物(くもつ)は全国を通じて粢(しとぎ)、餅などがあるが、とくに神の好むものとして海オコゼという魚がある。山の神への供物を女が食べると気の荒い子が生まれるといわれている。神奈川県から山梨県へかけて正月21日の行事に、山の神の冠(かんむり)落としといって、篠竹(しのだけ)で弓矢をつくり山の神に供える。この日山の神が狩りをする。神は冠の落ちるのもかまわず弓を射るので、その矢に当たるかもしれず危険で山へは行けぬという。九州博多(はかた)地方では、旧暦12月24日を山の神の洗濯日といい、その日はやはり山へ入るのを遠慮するという。

［大藤時彦］

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