Japanese Beliefs surrounding the Mountain

Abstract

This artcle is mainly concerned with a historical approach to the divinity of, or beliefs concerning the mountain in Japan. In Japanese myths, the basic ideas of the Japanese have to do with the mountain: the lineal right much of the Japanese chiefdom, for instance, was concerned with some characteristics surrounding the mountain, while those relating to the ocean were subordinately helpful in maintaining the chieftainship. There are such examples as Kannabi-Yama and Mimoro-Yama (yama means mountain) as forms of primitive shrines. The forest-clad places in these hills were thought to be shrines. The deity Yama-guchi-gami, who was enshrined at the entrance to a hill, was a conspicuous god ever since the cultural stage of wet-paddy cultivation. This god has the same nature as Mikumarino-kami, (watar-dividing god) and manifests the personality of the god of the mountain as well as of water. Based on this idea, the mountain was the god to whom people prayed for rain, and became the place of such petition as well. Also the famous high mountains (meizan) were thought to be the world of purity or the land of gods and saints which transcended the secular world and among other things became a place of ascetic inquiry for Buddhists. Lastly I discuss the so-called Yama-no-kami (mountain god) who was discovered by modern Japanese folklorists who have studied survivals, of folk tradition since mediaeval times. Among the various attributes of Yama-no-kami, his original form, the place and form of the festival and other characteristics such as his amorous character were given consideration in the light of Japanese history. In conclusion, by cross-reference, the belief in Yama-no-kami in recent times can be connected in many respects with the divinity of the mountain in ancient times.