Encyclopedia of Shinto

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詳細表示 (Complete Article)

カテゴリー1： 2. Kami (Deities)
カテゴリー2： Kami in Classic Texts
Title
Niutsuhime
Text [Niutsuhime no kami]
A female kami and central deity (saijin) of the Niutsuhime Shrine in Katsuragi, Ito District, Wakayama Prefecture. The deity may be the same as the Nihotsuhime seen in the legend of Empress Jingū related in a fragmentary passage of the Harima no kuni fudoki as contained in Shoku Nihongi. The kami is said to be the tutelary of metallic mercury (suigin) and also of water sources (suigen).
According to the Niu Daimyōjin norito, the kami first appeared in Anda Village of Ito District, and after traveling through the region, settled in the location of its current shrine. The kami is also said to have ceded land to Kōbō Daishi (Kūkai) for the purpose of building his temple Kongōbuji, and is thus considered a tutelary of Mt. Kōya. From the medieval period, Niutsuhime was viewed as the mother of the Buddhist deity Kōya Myōjin, and generally identified with the kami Wakahirume.

-Kadoya Atsushi

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

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