Jump to content

Ugajin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ugajin (宇賀神), masculine form.

Ugajin (宇賀神) is a harvest and fertility kami of Japanese mythology.[1][2] Ugajin is represented both as a male and a female, and is often depicted with the body of a snake and the head of a bearded man, for the masculine variant,[1] or the head of a woman, for the female variant. In Tendai Buddhism Ugajin was syncretically fused with Buddhist goddess Benzaiten, which became known as Uga Benzaiten or Uga Benten.[3] The goddess sometimes carries on her head Ugajin's effigy.

In this limited sense, the kami is part of the Japanese Buddhist pantheon.

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Watsky, Andrew Mark. (2004). Chikubushima: Deploying the Sacred Arts in Momoyama Japan, p. 233, at Google Books
  2. ^ Handbook of Japanese mythology by Michael Ashkenazi p. 126
  3. ^ Itō, Satoshi: "Ugajin". Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kokugakuin University, retrieved on August 15, 2011
[edit]
  • Media related to Ugajin at Wikimedia Commons