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Goddesses of Japan Akaru-Hime Goddess of Autumn. Ama-No-Uzume Japanese Fertility goddess, witty goddess of persuasion. A companion of Ninigi, she performed a bawdy dance hoping to entice the sun out of hiding. This dance symbolizes the planting of seed which waits for the sun come after winter. Amaterasu Omikami (Ama Terasu) The Great Goddess Spirit Shining in Heaven, this Japanese Sun Goddess ruled weaving and agriculture. Disgusted with her brother because of his violence toward women, Amaterasu enclosed herself in a cave and refused to come out. Eight hundred deities gathered outside her self-made isolation and tried to lure her out with a loud celebration. Hearing the loud commentaries on an erotic dance being performed by the crone Goddess Ame No Uzume, Amaterasu emerged, overcome with curiosity. Seeing her radiance reflected in a mirror that had been set up outside the entrance, she was amazed at her brilliance which she had never seen before. She returned to the world and life was renewed. The snake, draped on her arm, holds her brother's sword which she broke into 3 pieces that became Goddesses. The Japanese Shinto sun goddess, ruler of the Plain of Heaven, whose name means 'shining heaven' or 'she who shines in the heavens'. She is the central figure in the Shinto pantheon and the Japanese Imperial family claims descent from her. She is the eldest daughter of Izanagi. She was so bright and radiant that her parents sent her up the Celestial Ladder to heaven, where she has ruled ever since. Am-No-Tanabata-Hime Ame-No-Mi-Kumari Benzai-Ten Sun goddess of the Ainu peoples. Originally she was the moon goddess but after one night overhead watching all the adulterous behavings below she begged the sun god to trade places with her; he did. Dainichi A Japanese Buddhist goddess of purity and wisdom, sometimes regerded as male. Fuchi (Huchi) Fuchi was venerated as patroness of the household and cooking by the ancient Ainu people, and was a goddess of healing who "purifies the body from disease." Also called Huchi or Apermeru-ko-yan-mat, in Japan she is the first goddess approached in prayer, considered the intermediary between gods and humanity. She is venerated in this form, Sengen-sama, in the temple atop Mt. Fuji. Fuji In the myths of many cultures, volcanoes have been seen as female forces (Aetna in Italy, Pele in Hawaii, and Chuginadak in the Aleutians). The aboriginal Japanese Ainus saw volcanic fire as female also, naming their chief divinity Fuji, goddess of the famous mountain that now bears her name. Haniyama-hime
Hani-Yasu-No-Kami ("lotus-child") In Japanese mythology, a young girl who died of love for her betrothed; whom she had never seen. Her spirit 'stole' the body of her sister Kei for a year so she and her fiancé could live as lovers. Kei became ill 'like one dead'. At the end of the year Hasu-Ko brought her lover to her ancestral home and told her parents that she was content to die if they would marry her sister to him. Since this was the only way to give her soul peace, the parents agreed. When her spirit faded away, Kei revived suddenly and was happy to marry her sister's fiancé. They lived happily ever after. Haya-Akitsu-Hime-No-Kami The Japanese goddess who ate all the sins cast into the ocean. Hettsui-No-Kami Hisa-Me ("princess live-long"The incredibly strong daughter of the mountain god Oho-Yama who wanted her to marry Ninigi. The rice-god preferred her younger sister Ko-no-Hana instead, and Iha-Naga cursed him. Inari The Japanese god of food or goddess of rice. Inari is one of the most mysterious deities of Japan. He is both male and female. Each year he/she descends from a mountain to the rice fields. The fox is Inari's messenger and it is believed that he/she can assume a fox's shape. The deity may also assume the shape of a spider in order to teach wicked men a lesson. Inari is portrayed with a beard and carrying two bundles of rice. An Inari-shrine can be found in many Japanese towns and in many households he/she is venerated as a symbol of prosperity and friendship. These shrines are guarded by statues of foxes, divine messengers. Inari's central temple is Fushimi-Inara in south-east Kyoto city, built around 700 CE. Inara the rice-goddess is celebrated in a festival held during the first days of spring when cultivation begins. She may be identified with the Indian Lakshmi and the Javanese Dewi Sri. Inari is also sometimes identified with Uga-no-Mitama, the goddess of agriculture. Ishikoridome-No-Mikoto Izanami Jingo Kami-Musabi Kami-Musumi Kamikaze Kaminari The Japanese goddess of metals, particularly mountain minerals. Her husband is Kanayama-hiko. Kaya-Nu-Hima Kayanuhime-no-Kami The goddess to whom Japanese women pray when they want children and a goddess who protects children. Her image is treated with great care and reverence in the house. She is of Indian origin. Kishijo-ten The Japanese goddess of luck and of beauty. She is the patroness of song and dance, protectress of the geishas. She is the sister of the war god Bishamon. Kishimo-jin The Japanese Buddhist patron goddess of little children. Her name means 'mother goddess of the demons' and she was originally a monstrous demon from India (called Hariti). She abducted little children and devoured them, until the great Buddha converted her. Now she represents the Buddha's appeal to compassion, and his devotion to the welfare of the weak. Kishimojin is portrayed as a mother suckling her baby, and holding a pomegranate in her hand (the symbol of love and feminine fertility). She is also called Karitei-mo. Kitsune-Tsuki A fox spirit, or a demon who appears in the shape of a fox, in Japanese mythology. Kitsune-Tsuki ("Fox-Lunacy") is possession by such a spirit. It occurs mostly in women. The fox spirit enters through the fingernails or the breast. Kojin A ancient good-natured Japanese tree-deity, the goddess of the kitchen. She lives in an enoki or nettle tree. It is custom that old dolls may not be thrown away but should instead be dedicated to Kojin by placing it at the roots of an enoki tree. Ko-no-Hana (Kono-Hana-Sakuya-Hime) ("child-flower") The Japanese Blossom Princess is the symbol of delicate earthly life. She makes the flowers bloom. She is the daughter of the mountain god Oho-Yama, and is the wife of Ninigi. She met him on the seashore and they fell in love. Ninigi asked Oho-Yama for his daughter's hand, but the mountain god proposed that he should marry his elder daughter Iha-Naga ("princess live-long") instead. Ninigi choose Ko-no-Hana and the lived happily together and had three sons, including Hoderi and Hoori. Their marriage, however, was not a happy one. Because of her husbands unreasonable jealousy Ko-no-Hana retired to a hut in the woods. The hut she later set on fire and she perished in the flames. Kukuri-Hime Marici The Japanese queen of heaven, goddess of light, of sun and moon. Miyazu-Hime The Japanese goddess of royalty, wife of the storm-god Susanowo. She has a shrine in Atsuta. Mizuhame-no-Mikoto A Japanese goddess, the last-born child of the mother goddess Izanami. Mountain Woman A Japanese demoness who lives in the forests. She flies like an insect but she is bigger and stronger than a man. It is believed that she can pick up an unwary traveler and devour him. Nakatsu-Hime (Nakisawame) The goddess of the Eight Island Country directly below heaven. Her name means "The Lady of the Middle World". Otohime "Luminous Jewel". A Japanese goddess, the beautiful daughter of the sea-king Ryujin. She married Hoori and gave birth to a son after which she turned into a dragon (her father's original shape). She is also called Toyotama. Sengen (Ko-no-Hana) The goddess of the sacred mountain of Fujiyama and the blossom-goddess. She guards the secret well of eternal youth, dispensing its water of life to only a few people. Her shrine is located at the top of the mountain. Worshippers greet the rising sun there. Sengen is often referred to Ko-no-Hana-Saku-ya-Hime ("the princess who makes the tree-blossom bloom") and Asama ("dawn of good luck"). Sengen is depicted as a young girl scattering tsubaki, pink blossom. Shiko-Me In Japanese mythology, the Shiko-Me are female devils. Shine-To-Be A Japanese goddess, wife of Shine-Tsu-Hiko. Tatsuta-hime The Japanese goddess of autumn. Toyo-Uke-Bime Japanese goddess of earth and food and agriculture. Toyouke-Omikami The Japanese goddess of grain. Her shrine, geku, is traditionally served by a priestess, saigu. Uba ("old woman, wet nurse") The spirit of the pine tree in Japan. She and her husband Jo ("love") symbolize marital love and fidelity. Uga-no-Mitama The Japanese goddess of agriculture. Uka no Mitanna A rice goddess, usually pictured with foxes, her divine messengers. Ukemochi The Japanese Shinto goddess of fertility and food. She was killed by the moon god Tsuki-yumi when she offended him by vomiting large amounts of food. From her dead body emerged various animals including a horse, an ox, a silk worm; as well as rice, beans and other grains. Her attributes are often absorbed into those of Inari. Uminai-gami (Okinawa) A creator goddess, who with her brother Umikii-gami, created humans and the land. Uso-dori Goddess of singing. Uzume The Japanese Shinto goddess of joy and happiness, called the Daughter of Heaven and Heaven's Forthright Female. Her name means "whirling". She is also the goddess of good health, which people obtain from drinking the blessed water of her stream. When the sun goddess Amaterasu had hidden herself in a cave, thus covering the earth in darkness and infertility, it was Uzume who brought her back. With her provoking and curlew dances she managed to make the gods laugh so hard, that Amaterasu left the cave intrigued. Her emerging brought light and life back to earth. Her brother Ninigi married Uzume to the deity who guards the Floating Bridge to Heaven. Wakahiru-me The favorite weaving maiden of the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu. She died when the evil Susanoo threw a flayed piebald colt through the roof of the "Heavenly Weaving Hall". Terrified, Wakahirume fell onto her shuttle, which fatally punctured her vagina. This so enraged Amaterasu that she closeted herself into the Sky-Rock-Cave, and only the creation of the world's first mirror could lure her back out. (In some interpretations, Wakahirume is the sun goddess' younger sister, or a younger dawn form of the divinity.) Yainato-Hnneno-Mikoi This early Japanese princess became possessed by the goddess Amaterasu, ancestral mother of her clan, and under the goddess' influence founded a temple used as Amaterasu's sanctuary. Yama-No-Kami Goddess of the hunt. Goddess of the forest. Goddess of agriculture. Goddess of vegetation. Yama-no-Karni This goddess was a spirit of sacred mountains, one who brought good luck to hunters and woodsmen who attended to her rites but she could be quite stern with those who did not. One-legged and one-eyed, she was invoked as a protector for women, for she has a secret box of souls from which she endows each new being. As a seasonal goddess, she annually gives birth to twelve children, the year's twelve months. In singular form, she is Yama-no-Shinbo, the mountain mother. Yasha A vampire-bat from Japanese mythology. It is believed that it is the spirit of a woman whose anger lowered her status in rebirth. Yaya-Zakurai This cherry-tree goddess was a beautiful young woman each spring. She remained celibate while her beauty lasted, only taking lovers when her petals had fallen. Yuki-Onna (Yuki-Onne) The Lady of the Snow, the Snow Queen or Winter Ghost in Japanese mythology. Sometimes she appears as an earthly woman, marries and has children, but sometimes she will disappear in a white mist. To those lost in blizzards, struggling futilely against the cold, she came, soothing them, singing to lull them to sleep, then breathing a deathly cold breath on them. The "snow maiden" was the spirit of death by freezing; a calm, pale woman who appeared to the dying, making their death quiet and painless. |