10/23/2023 0 Comments Japanese kami pestilenceMutō later provided Somin Shōrai's family a magical means to save themselves from future epidemics as a reward for their hospitality and slew the rich man who rejected him. The story relates that Mutō was a god from the northern sea who stayed at the house of a poor man named Somin Shōrai after Somin Shōrai's wealthy brother refused to give him lodgings. Gozu Tennō was historically identified with a number of deities, foremost among these being Susanoo, the impetuous storm god of classical Japanese mythology, and Mutō-no-Kami (武塔神), an obscure deity who appears in the legend of Somin Shōrai. Another theory proposes a Korean origin for the deity. From India, the deity's cult was supposedly transmitted to Japan via Tibet and China, where it was influenced by esoteric Buddhism and Taoism. One theory for instance claims that Gozu Tennō was originally a minor Buddhist deity regarded as the protector of the monastery ( vihara) of Jetavana, with his Sanskrit name being reconstructed either as 'Gavagrīva' ("Ox-Necked") or 'Gośirsa Devarāja' ("Ox-Headed Divine King", a calque of 'Gozu Tennō'). The origins and early development of the Gozu Tennō cult before it reached Japan, as well as the process of his amalgamation with other deities, are unclear and a matter of debate. The caption at the upper left identifies Susanoo as 'Gozu Tennō' (牛頭天皇). See also: Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Somin Shōrai, and Yasaka Shrine Susanoo defeating the Yamata no Orochi, by Utagawa Kuniteru. During the Meiji period, when the government mandated the separation of Shinto and Buddhism, Shinto shrines dedicated to Gozu Tennō of the Gion cult tradition such as Yasaka Shrine in the Gion district of Kyoto or Tsushima Shrine in Tsushima, Aichi Prefecture officially reidentified their enshrined deity as Susanoo. Originally imported to Japan from mainland Asia, he was regarded since the Heian period both as a causer of and protector against epidemics and eventually became amalgamated with the native kami Susanoo during the medieval and early modern periods. "Ox-Headed Heavenly King") is a syncretic Japanese deity of disease and healing. Susanoo as Gozu Tennō subjugating demons ( Utagawa Sadahide)
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