Name ▲▼ | Origin ▲▼ | Description ▲▼ |
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God name "Hachiman" | Shinto / Japan | God of war and peace. A deity whose origins are confused. The name does not appear in either of the sacred texts of Shintoism, but such a deity was probably worshiped in the distant past with the alternative title of HimeGami or Hime-O-Kami. The cult center was on the southern island of Kyushu at Usa. In modern Shintoism, Hachiman originates as a member of the imperial dynasty. Named Ojin-Tenno and born in AD 200 to the empress Jingu-Kogo, he greatly improved the living standards and culture of Japan during his remarkable reign. The place of his birth was marked by a sanctuary and several centuries after his death, a vision of a child KAMI appeared there to a priest. The kami identified himself by the Chinese ideogram representing the name Hachiman, and thus the link developed. The site is, today, the location of a magnificent shrine, the Umi-Hachiman-Gu, where Hachiman has been perceived as a god of war. Soldiers departing for battle once took with them relics from the shrine. Hachiman is also a deity of peace and a guardian of human life and, when pacifism dominated Japan during the post-war era, he became more strongly identified in the latter context.... |
Goddess name "Ma-zu aka Matsu" | China | Ma-Tsu, A-Ma, and Mizu-Gami, Goddess of the sea who is a benevolent guardian of fisherman. When you are facing great difficulty, you can call her Ma-zu and she will immediately come to your rescue. If, however, you address her as the "Empress of heaven", she will have to take time to put on her fine clothing and will be delayed in coming to your aid. China |
"Xiling Shi" | China | A legendary Chinese Empress wife of the Yellow Emperor who discovered silk and invented the silk loom. China |