God of Earthquakes

Posted by Chika On 5:00 PM
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The Super Earthquake March 11, 2011



東北地方太平洋沖地震

magnitude 9:0



. Tohoku region Pacific Ocean offshore earthquake .





earthquake night -

the stars are as silent

as ever




 

The posts are in reverse order of the date.

Use the Monthly archives to start from the start.













. Too many Aftershocks .  







My home is about 1000 km away from the atomic reactors.

We live high up in the mountains, no worry about tsunami.





and an earthquake talisman 地震御守











External LINK

. Geiger Counter for Tokyo .





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Nai no kami 地震神

The Japanese god of earthquakes.



nai no kami ないのかみ / なゐの神【地震神】

deity of earthquakes



quote

by Mori Mizue

A kami worshiped following disastrous earthquakes.

The earliest historical record of an earthquake in Japan appears in a poem included in Nihongi's account of Emperor Buretsu, but the first record of an earthquake kami and its worship comes from Nihongi's records of the reign of Empress Suiko.



In summer of the seventh year of her reign (599 C.E.), a temblor struck the capital regions, and an order was issued to offer worship to the kami of earthquakes, although no title is given to any specific kami to be worshiped.



In later periods, the transmission of legends regarding the "pivot stone" (kanameishi) at the shrine Kashima Jingū led to the belief that the shrine's central deity Takemikazuchi was a protector against earthquakes, and identifications were also made with kami of the "landlord deity" (jinushigami) type.



The mythologies transmitted by Kojiki and Nihongi, however, provide no descriptions of kami with clear attributes as protective tutelaries against earthquakes, and the original deity may have been related to Chinese Onmyōdō (Yin-Yang) beliefs.



Some have suggested that Nai Jinja in Nabari of Iga Province (a shikinaisha or shrine listed in the Engishiki) was dedicated to this kami.

source : Kokugakuin University, 2005





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jishin mushi 地震虫 (じしんむし) earthquake bug



This mythical animal is mentioned in the Nihon Shoki volume about Suiko Tenno 推古天皇紀.

In the year 599 there was a huge earthquake in the region of Nara, so the Tenno ordered the "God of Earthquakes" Nai no Kami「地震神」(なゐのかみ) to be venerated in the country.

The name refers to the attribute of the deity, like the "god of the fields 野の神", or the "god of the sea 海の神".



This deity was later venerated at the shrine Kashima Jingu.











CLICK for source, www10.palala.or





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Takemikazuchi no mikoto (武甕槌大神)





Tekemikazuchi standing on a catfish



the "rough spirit" (aramitama) of Amaterasu ōmikami





He holds down the God of the Earthquake, here in the form of a huge catfish, and sits on the famous "key stone" "kaname ishi 要石".



A giant catfish (namazu) lived in mud beneath the earth. The catfish liked to play pranks and could only be restrained by Kashima, a deity who protected the Japanese people from earthquakes. So long as Kashima kept a mighty rock with magical powers over the catfish, the earth was still. But when he relaxed his guard, the catfish thrashed about, causing earthquakes.





quote

Takemikazuchi

by Kadoya Atsushi

A kami produced from the blood adhering to the sword when Izanagi killed the fire kami Kagutsuchi. Together with Amanotorifune (Kojiki) or Futsunushi no kami (Nihongi), Takemikazuchi descended to the land of Izumo and entreated Ōkuninushi to transfer the land (kuniyuzuri) to the heavenly kami.



Kojiki adds that he engaged in a test of strength with Takeminakata, the child of Ōkuninushi, who had opposed the heavenly forces. Subduing Takeminaka, he drove him away to Suwa in the province of Shinano (present-day Nagano).



On the occasion of Emperor Jinmu's eastern campaign, Takemikazuchi deferred from descending to aid Jinmu, but in his place sent his sword Futsunomitama, in this way aiding Jinmu's forces in their successful pacification of the land. Takemikazuchi is worshiped at Kashima, Kasuga and other shrines.

source : Kokugakuin University, 2005







Kashima Shinko 鹿島信仰

The Faith related to Kashima

. Kashima Shrine 鹿島神宮 Kashima Jingu .  







Kashima Torii 鹿島鳥居 Kashima Shrine Gate





It broke down during

the super earthquake on March 11, 2011.



鹿島神宮の鳥居が倒壊している

鹿島神宮崩壊してる

鹿島港の北埠頭と南埠頭で浸水が発生した。



. . . . .



yurugu tomo yomoya nukeji no kaname ishi

Kashima no kami no aran kagiri wa



As long as the Kashima deity is with us,

the pivot stone may wobble but it will not break.






ゆるぐとも よもや抜けじの要石 鹿島の神のあらん限りは

(鹿島の神さえいれば、要石は緩むことはあっても抜けてしまって、大地震が起こることはないだろう)



People in Edo used to say this poem three times, then write in on a slip of paper and past in on the door of their home. This would protect the house of earthquake damage.



This poem is not from the Manyo-Shu, but from another book publishes most probably in 1663.

浅井了意の『かなめ石』(1662?)



quote

The poem appears on the last page of volume 3 of Asai Ryôi's Kanameishi, a kanazôshi published ca. Kanbun 3 (1663) concerning the earthquake that struck Kyoto on the first day of the fifth month of Kanbun 2 (1662). Asai Ryôi describes the poem as a zokuka 俗歌 (a popular verse) and simply identifies it as

"mukashi no hito no uta" (a poem by a person of old).

source : PMJS discussion group



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Nai jinja 名居神社(ないじんじゃ)shrine Nai Jinja



CLICK for more photos



In the town Nabari 名張市下比奈知 宮ノ谷 in Iga, Mie prefecture.

The pronounciation may have changed from nafuri to nahori to nabari to nai.



The deity Ooanamuchi no Mikoto 大己貴命 おおあなむち‐の‐みことis venerated.

He used to be a Kunitsu Daimyojin 国津大明神 (the god of the earthly realm).



also venerated the deities :



Sukunahiko no mikoto 少彦名命(スクナヒコナノミコト)

Amenokoyane no mikoto天児屋根命(アメノコヤネノミコト)

Kotoshironushi no mikoto事代主命(コトシロヌシノミコト)

Ichikishima hime no mikoto 市杵嶋姫命(イチキシマヒメノミコト)

Hiruko no mikoto 蛭子命(ヒルコノミコト)





This is a shrine dedicated to the deity of earthquakes,

jishin no kami 地震の神.





. Namazu なまず/ 鯰 catfish in legends and toys .





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god of earthquakes -

what does it take

to keep you quiet ?











Thank you, Origa san, for your haiga.

Let us hope Nai no Kami accepts this offering.



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The Super Earthquake March 11, 2011

東北地方太平洋沖地震

magnitude 9:0

with a huge tsunami of more than 10 meters

. Tohoku region

Pacific Ocean offshore earthquake .
 



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