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Wolf Deities in Japan | Wolfgötter in Japan | Dieux-Loups en Japon | 日本のオオカミの神々
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Yamazumisama - the honourable wolf deity | die ehrenwerte Wolfsgottheit | la divinité honorable du loup
The sacred Mountain Wolf, 山犬, is also called Oinusama, 御犬様 (O-inu-sama, "Honorable Wolf Deity": inu means dog, but the words for dog and wolf are often used synonymously). For example, the Yamazumi Shrine (Misakubo, Shizuoka Prefecture) has a long history of wolf worship; founded in A.D. 709 when Oyamazu no Kami, generally called Yamazumi Daigongen, a wolf deity (Yamazumisama, 山住様 /ヤマズミサマ, "Deity living in the mountains"), was invited here from Iyo province. The shrine is famous for its wolf cult and the legend/myth tell us that,
"When Tokugawa Ieyasu took refuge in a mountain to escape from the attack of the Takeda clan, the mountain suddenly began to quake and he heard great roaring of a wolf, which drove away the enemy." Interestingly, the Japanese word for wolf, ōkami (狼), is phonetically identical with the name of a great god or goddess, ōkami (大神: 大 (ō, “great”) + 神 (kami, “god, spirit”), as in the case of the great goddess Amaterasu, who is also called ōkami; however, she never seems to have been identified with a wolf, only in 21st-century adaptations of her myth, though we should not make any assumptions ex silentio.
The wolf is a guardian when it is properly attended to and cared for. - For example, he is a guardian who protects the traveller, as we can see in many myths and legends. Farmers used to worship wolves at shrines and left food offerings near their dens, beseeching them to protect their crops from wild boars and deer. Inu no ubumimai is a tradition in which one gives a female Honshu wolf rice when she gives birth to cubs; and in return she would protect the village and assist in danger (cf. Walker 2008). Here, we can also refer to India since Hindus traditionally considered that the hunting of wolves was a taboo since they feared that it may cause a bad harvest! In Japan, talismans and charms adorned with images of wolves were thought to protect against fire, disease and other calamities and brought fertility to agrarian communities and to couples hoping to have children. On wolves in Japan, cf. e.g. B.L. Walker, The Lost Wolves of Japan (2008), and J. Knight, Waiting for Wolves in Japan: An Anthropological Study of People-Wildlife Relations (2003). Watch it on YouTube to switch on sounds and to like: https://youtu.be/FQTcz3qKdys
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AMAROK
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Wolf deities in Khotan (China) | Wolfsgottheiten in Hotan | Dieux-loups dans le Royaume de Khotan
We already talked of the 'heavenly dog' in China, Tiangou, 天狗 , comparable with Skalli and Hati in Norse mythology, chasing the sun (see page 1). There is also this enigmatic wall painting that was found in the Kingdom of Khotan (modern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China) which seems to depict what appears to be an anthropomorphic representation of a wolf deity (this is hardly a 'rat' as some have suggested!). If we follow Kothan legends and myths, then the wolf deity might represent "a spirit protecting the health of children" (Whitfield (ed.), "Khotan: a kingdom of remarkable diversity", in: The Sill Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith, British Library, Chicago 2004: 137).
The wolf also plays a role in local dynasties; for example, the first kings of neighbouring Yarkand had the family name Gurga (perhaps from the Persian/Kurdish word gurga, “wolf”) (cf. L. Christopoulous, "Hellenes and Romans in Ancient China", Sino-Platonic Papers 230: 23). Possibly a wolf-headed deity, polychrome wall painting from a Buddhist shrine at Tarashlik near Mayaklik (N. of Khotan, China): animal with open mouth and large fangs; left hand, possibly carrying a weapon (e.g., vajra?); image originally had four arms;. (H.: 34.5cm; 5th-6th c.AD; British Museum 2004,0510,0.1)
天狗 | Tiangou
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