Otake

In the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture and Okinawa Prefecture, this refers to a sacred place equivalent to a shrine. It is also called a forest or ogami, and is commonly referred to as "utaki." It is usually a grove of trees, and the sacred area equivalent to the main hall is called ibe or ubu, etc., and trees and rocks are worshiped. Worship and ceremonies are carried out in the place in front of it, which is the worship hall. Today, some utaki have a worship hall with a roof and an altar.

There is a tendency to call any place where a god is enshrined an Utaki, but as the name Otake suggests, it seems to have originated from the belief in enshrining a god who protects the land in a mountain, such as Mount Miwa in Nara Prefecture. There is also a custom of building Utaki for distant worship in places where people migrate, which has encouraged the transformation of Utaki, and in fact, there are Utaki that have an ebe at the summit and a place of worship at the foot of the mountain. A similar mountain worship can be found in the Satsunan Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture. In ancient times, the divine spirit that appears in Utaki was called Kinmamun (Kimi Shinmono), and its original location was Benzaiten. In the Amami Islands, where shrines have become widespread, some Utaki were renamed Itsukushima Shrine in the Meiji period.

[Yo Kojima]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鹿児島県奄美(あまみ)諸島と沖縄県で、神社に相当する聖地をいう。森(もり)あるいはオガミともいい、一般に「うたき」とよばれる。たいていは樹叢(じゅそう)をなし、本殿にあたる神聖な部分をイベ、ウブなどといい、樹木や岩石を祀(まつ)る。礼拝や祭儀は、その前方の拝殿にあたる場所で行う。今日では、屋根と祭壇を設けた拝殿ができている御嶽もある。

　神を祀るところをすべて御嶽と称する傾向があるが、オタケの名のとおり、奈良県の三輪山(みわやま)などのように、土地を鎮護する神を山岳に祀る信仰に由来するらしい。移住先などに遙拝(ようはい)のための御嶽をつくる習慣もあり、御嶽の変貌(へんぼう)を促しているが、現に、山頂をイベとし、麓(ふもと)に礼拝所を置く御嶽もある。類似の山岳信仰は、鹿児島県の薩南(さつなん)諸島にもある。御嶽に出現する神霊は、古くはキンマムン（君真物）とよび、本地を弁財天とした。神社化の進んだ奄美諸島では、明治になって厳島(いつくしま)神社と改称した御嶽もある。

［小島瓔］

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