Kunitsukami

Kunitsukami (国つ神,[1] 国津神[2]) are the kami of the land[3] and live in tsuchi.[4]

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They were contrasted from the Amatsukami,[1] although modern Shinto no longer makes the distinction between Amatsukami and Kunitsukami.[5] According to Yijiang Zhong the distinction was made by the writers of the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki to formulate a political discourse.[6]

Kunitsukami were often presented as tutelary deities. They were also associated with geographical areas along with their inhabitants. Non-royal families also viewed them as their ancestors.[7] They also were considered personifications of the land.[8]

According to Ernest Mason Satow and Karl Florenz, kunitsukami might have been deified chiefs who migrated to Japan.[9]

The Three Pioneer Kami (開拓三神, Kaitaku Sanjin) Ōkunitama, Ōkuninushi, and Sukunahikona used in Japanese colonial shrines. [10]: 61 .[11]: 53–54  They are all Kunitsukami or earthly kami representing the land.[11]: 53–54 

Ogasawara Shozo proposed a system justifying Japanese Imperialism where Japanese people in the colonies were seen as Amatsukami and natives were seen as Kunitsukami,[12] however he was later censored as his position was considered too supportive of the rights of colonized peoples.[12]

Mythology

Many myths in the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki are about the conflict between the Kunitsukami and the Amatsukami.[8]

List of kunitsukami

See also

References
  1. Klautau, Orion; Krämer, Hans Martin (2021-03-31). Buddhism and Modernity: Sources from Nineteenth-Century Japan. University of Hawaii Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-8248-8458-1.
  2. Goto, Akira (2020-11-19). Cultural Astronomy of the Japanese Archipelago: Exploring the Japanese Skyscape. Routledge. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-000-22109-1.
  3. Bocking, Brian (2005-09-30). A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-79738-6.
  4. Picken, Stuart D. B. (2010-12-28). Historical Dictionary of Shinto. Scarecrow Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8108-7372-8.
  5. "kami | Definition, Translation, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  6. Zhong, Yijiang (2016-10-06). The Origin of Modern Shinto in Japan: The Vanquished Gods of Izumo. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4742-7109-7.
  7. Drott, Edward R. (2016-04-30). Buddhism and the Transformation of Old Age in Medieval Japan. University of Hawaii Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-8248-5150-7.
  8. Ashkenazi, Michael (2003). Handbook of Japanese Mythology. ABC-CLIO. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-57607-467-1.
  9. Satow (2014-07-16). Ancient Japanese Rituals. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-79291-8.
  10. Shimizu, Karli; Rambelli, Fabio (2022-10-06). Overseas Shinto Shrines: Religion, Secularity and the Japanese Empire. London New York (N.Y.) Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-350-23498-7.
  11. Kōji, Suga; 𳜳𨀉𠄈 (2010). "A Concept of "Overseas Shinto Shrines": A Pantheistic Attempt by Ogasawara Shōzō and Its Limitations". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 37 (1): 47–74. ISSN 0304-1042. JSTOR 27822899.
  12. Kōji, Suga; 𳜳𨀉𠄈 (2010). "A Concept of "Overseas Shinto Shrines": A Pantheistic Attempt by Ogasawara Shōzō and Its Limitations". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 37 (1): 47–74. ISSN 0304-1042.
  13. Narayanan, Vasudha (2005). Eastern Religions: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places. Oxford University Press. pp. 440–441. ISBN 978-0-19-522191-6.
  14. Drott, Edward R. (2016-04-30). Buddhism and the Transformation of Old Age in Medieval Japan. University of Hawaii Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8248-5150-7.
  15. Picken, Stuart D. B. (2010-12-28). Historical Dictionary of Shinto. Scarecrow Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-8108-7372-8.
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