Musashino Inari-jinja

Musashino Inari-jinja 武蔵野稲荷神社 in Ekoda 江古田 officially enshrines Uga no Mi-tama no Kami 宇迦之御魂神, but one can also find several hokora 祠 enshrining Inari, as well as statues of the Seven Lucky Gods and Jizō-bosatsu, which makes this shrine highly syncretic.

Main gate

Daikoku-ten 大黒天, one of the Seven Lucky Gods that can be found in Shintō shrines as well as in Buddhist temples. He originally was a manifestation of the Hindu deity Śiva शिव, but came to Japan through Chinese Buddhism as belonging to the Ten-bu 天部 (gods of heaven). Therefore, he is not a Buddha or a Bodhisattva, but a god/kami 神. He was assimilated to Ōkuninushi 大国主 due to the identical pronunciation of the characters “大国” and “大黒” (Miyamoto, 1987; p45) which made him completely acceptable as a Shintō deity.

A hokora with typical mass-produced shingu 神具 (Shintō style altar fittings) as found in online shops and the like.

The Seven Lucky Gods.

First row from left to right:

Jurōjin 寿老人 (originally an !immortal from Chinese Taoism),

Fukuroju 福禄寿 (based on three lucky gods [Fú Lù Shòu] of Chinese Taoism),

Bishamon-ten 毘沙門天 (one of the Four Heavenly Kings in South-Asian Buddhism)

Second row from left to right:

Hotei 布袋 (based on a legendary Chinese Zen (Chán)-monk who was believed to be an incarnation of Miroku-bosatsu 弥勒菩薩),

Ebisu 恵比須 (the only purely Japanese kami),

Benzai-ten 弁財天 (based on the Hindu Sarasvatī सरस्वती, the consort of Brahmā ब्रह्मा),

Daikoku-ten (see above)

A hokora for Migawari Inari-ōkami (? 身替稲荷大神) with dozens and dozens of statuettes of foxes placed on, next to or under a miniature shrine. Presumably the statuettes were placed there by visitors as an offer.

 

The miniature shrine from up close. In the middle is a divine mirror symbolising the sun/Amaterasu-ōmikami 天照大御神 with two koma inu 狛犬 sitting next to it. The wooden statuette of a woman riding a fox to the left is Dakini-ten 荼吉尼天 (Skt: ḍākinī डाकिनी) but her images is also used to represent Inari 稲荷 which explains the presence of this item on this particular altar.

The Buddhist (Mizuko 水子?) Jizō-bosatsu 地蔵菩薩 surrounded by Shintoist torii.

The main hall.

From left to right: Benzai-ten, Ebisu, Daikoku-ten and a legendary creature (perhaps a koma inu, shishi 獅子 or dragon).

The inside of the main hall as seen through the front window. On the painted sanbō 三宝 offerings of bell peppers, rice cake, a water melon, sake, rice-plants are presented to Uga no Mi-tama no Kami.

Sources:

• Miyamoto, Kesao  (宮本袈裟雄). 『福神信仰』 (Fukujin shinkō).  Tokyo:  Yūsankaku (雄山閣), 1987.

• Tōkyō-to jinja-chō (東京都神社庁). “武蔵野稲荷神社” (Musashi Inari-jinja). Tokyo-jinjacho.or.jp/ (2012) <http://www.tokyo-jinjacho.or.jp/syoukai/22_nerima/22035.html> (28-3-2012).

Gokoku-ji

I visited the Gokoku-ji 護国寺 (“Temple for the Protection of the Country”) which enshrines Nyoirin Kannon (“Wish-granting Kannon with the wheel”) 1. The temple’s denomination is Shingon-shū Buzan-ha (真言宗豊山派) so colourful flags can be found here and there on the temple grounds.

 Entrance

An incense burner and a singing bowl in front of some statues. 

On the left, Gyoran kannon魚籃観音 (“Kannon with fish basket”)

Apart from Kannon statues, there are numerous Jizō-bosatsu 地蔵菩薩 statues like the one enshrined below.

 A singing bowl, some flowers, an incense burner and some five minute candles for offerings inside the shrine shown above.

… and one rather sizable Amida-Nyorai 阿弥陀如来.

The main hall in which Nyoirin Kannon is enshrined.

The inside of the main hall as seen through the front window. The altar fittings look unmistakably Buddhist, but in the centre one can see what appears to be a divine mirror (神鏡 shinkyō) which is generally an item found on shintō altars. However, Nyoirin Kannon is often associated with mirrors and according to Iyanagi (2001; p5) she/he is even considered to be the Buddhist counterpart or true form (本地 honji) of Amaterasu-ōmikami 天照大御神.

A shintō torii 鳥居 in front of a graveyard behind Gokoku-ji.

Information about the upcoming Hana matsuri 花祭り at Gokoku-ji.

Fukiage Inari-jinja 吹上稲荷神社, located on a quiet place not very far from Gokoku-ji, enshrines Ukemochi no Ōkami 保食之大神.

Temizuya 手水舎

A small kamidana inside a shop as seen from the pavement.

 Footnotes:

1 Nyoirin Kannon holds a nyoi hōju 如意宝珠 (wish-granting jewl) and a Rinbō 輪宝(Skt: cakraratna चक्ररत्न, treasure wheel)

Sources:

• Iyanaga, Nobumi (彌永信美) .『如意輪観音と女性性』(Nyoirin Kannon to joseisei). Tokio: Tōkyō Daigaku  (Bungakubu : Indo testugaku bukkyōgaku kenkyū). 2001.

• Tanaka, Yoshiyasu (田中義恭).『面白いほどよくわかる仏像の世界: 仏像の種類・歴史から鑑賞のポイントまで』(Omoshiroi hodo yoku wakaru butsuzō no sekai: butsuzō no shurui, rekishi kara kanshō made). Tokio: Nihon bungeisha (日本文芸社), 2008. P146.　

Blue-Faced Vajra

I have encountered several similar statues along the street side in the past months, but now finally I have been able to identify them. Shōmen kongō 青面金剛 (often translated in English as “the Blue-face Vajra” is a fearsome looking deity with one face, three eyes and usually six arms which gives him an unmistakable Esoteric look. He is often depicted trampling a demon with the famous "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" monkeys (見ざる 聞かざる 言わざる mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru) sitting at the bottom of the scene. The numerous sculptures throughout the cities and villages of Japan are being dedicated to him since his association with the Kōshin 庚申faith in the Edo period. Kōshin faith is not some Tantric Buddhist practise of South Asian, but a Taoist tradition from China. According to Taoism, every human body houses three worms (三尸san shi) who keep track of a person’s good and bad deeds. These worms are believed to go up to the Heavenly King (天帝) every sixty days when their host is asleep to report his/her deeds. As the Heavenly King will shorten the lives of those committing bad deeds based on these reports some people would stay up all night on the day of Kōshin to prevent the worms from leaving their bodies (庚申講Kōshinkō). Shōmen kongō, who is called Kōshin-san 庚申さん since his association with Shinkō faith, is believed to be able to make the three worms sick preventing them from going up to the Heavenly King altogether.

Shinkō-san/Shōmen kongō near Hōmyō-ji 法明寺 in Zōshigaya 雑司ヶ谷

Shinkō-san/Shōmen kongō not far from Kotakemukaihara 小竹向原 　

 

Shinkō-san/Shōmen kongō in Ekoda 江古田

Sources:

• Tanaka, Yoshiyasu (田中義恭).『面白いほどよくわかる仏像の世界: 仏像の種類・歴史から鑑賞のポイントまで』(Omoshiroi hodo yoku wakaru butsuzō no sekai: butsuzō no shurui, rekishi kara kanshō made). Tokio: Nihon bungeisha (日本文芸社), 2008. P146.　

• Information provided near shrine in Ekoda