Mishaguji (御左å£ç¥Â, 御社宮å¸, 御å°Âå®®å¸, 御社宮ç¥Â; katakana: ãÂÂã·ã£ã°ã¸), also known as Misakuji(n), Mis(h)aguchi or Mishakuji among other variants (see below), is a collective term for deities or spirits (kami) venerated in the Suwa region of Nagano Prefecture, particularly associated with the ritual practices of the Upper Shrine (Kamisha) of Suwa Taisha. These spirits once played a key role in the shrineâÂÂs winter and spring religious ceremonies and are also enshrined in numerous smaller shrines throughout the region. In these ceremonies, the Kan-no-Osa or Jinchà  (ç¥Âé·) â also known as Jinchà Âkan (ç¥Âé·å®Â) â a high-ranking ritual priest from the , would summon the Mishaguji into vessels (yorishiro), such as individuals or objects, to be temporarily inhabited during the rite. Upon completion, the spirits were ritually dismissed.
Despite their longstanding presence in local tradition, the precise nature and original characteristics of the Mishaguji remain elusive, and no single definitive explanation has been established. Documents produced by the Moriya during the medieval period portray the Mishaguji (御左å£ç¥Â) as lesser deities who form the retinue of Suwa Myà Âjin (a.k.a. Takeminakata), the deity of Suwa Shrine. By the early modern period, âÂÂMishagujiâ came to be interpreted in Suwa as an umbrella term for local kami who were revered as Suwa Myà Âjin's children (御åÂÂç¥Â, mikogami).
In the early 20th century, folklorists such as Kunio Yanagita and observed similarities between Suwa's Mishaguji worship and ishigami / shakujin (ç³ç¥Â, "stone deity", beliefs centered around unusual or spiritually charged stones) traditions found elsewhere in east and central Japan, as well as roadside deity cults such as Sai-no-Kami and Dà Âsojin, found in parts of the Kantà  and Kinki regions. These scholars proposed that such beliefs formed part of a widespread, interconnected religious complex, leading to the adoption of the broad category "Mishaguji belief" (ãÂÂã·ã£ã°ã¸信仰, Mishaguji-shinkà Â) to encompass these various traditions. While this classification was widely accepted through much of the 20th century, more recent scholarship has emphasized the need to distinguish SuwaâÂÂs Mishaguji from other, superficially similar local cults.
The postwar period brought increased scholarly interest in the Mishaguji, and numerous theories emerged regarding their origins and relationship to Suwa Shrine. Some proposed that Mishaguji were originally fertility or agricultural deities, while others viewed them as spirits inhabiting sacred natural objects, such as rocks or trees. Another theory held that âÂÂMishagujiâ denoted a more abstract, impersonal vital force, akin to the Austronesian concept of mana, a spiritual power present in people, objects, and landscapes.
Some theories posit that Mishaguji worship may trace its origins to the Jà Âmon period, given that the Suwa basin was a flourishing center of Jà Âmon culture and that many Mishaguji shrines incorporate Jà Âmon-era phallic stone rods ( sekibà Â) and similar prehistoric artifacts as sacred objects. Additionally, the archaic nature of certain Suwa Shrine rituals hint at an ancient origin. Certain scholars have thus proposed that Mishaguji worship preserves remnants of an earlier animistic tradition predating the emergence of Takeminakata worship in the region, viewing the Mishaguji's presence at the Upper Shrine's rites as vestiges of original local beliefs. However, this interpretation has faced recent criticism, with some experts cautioning against overly speculative correlations between archaeological artifacts and later religious practices.
Multiple variants of the name 'Mishaguji' exist such as 'Mishaguchi', 'Misaguchi', 'Misaguji', 'Mishakuji', 'Misakuji(n)', or 'Omishaguji'. There are also various ways of rendering the name in kanji such as 御左å£ç¥Â, 御ä½Âç¥Â, 御社宮ç¥Â, or 御社宮å¸, with 御左å£祠being the commonly used form in medieval documents penned by the Suwa Shrine priesthood. Outside Suwa, deities thought to be related to the Mishaguji with names such as '(O)shaguji', '(O)shagoji', '(O)sangà «ji', 'Sa(n)goji', 'Saguji', 'Shagottsan', 'Shagottan', 'Jogu-san', 'Osangà «-san', 'Oshamotsu-sama', or 'Oshamoji-sama' - with different ways of writing them in kanji - are found.
The name's etymology is uncertain. During the early modern period when the Mishaguji were conflated with the divine children (mikogami) of Takeminakata, the god of the Upper Suwa Shrine, the name was explained as being derived from the term sakuchi (é¢å°, lit. 'to open up / develop the land'), which in turn was connected with legends that credit Takeminakata's offspring with forming and developing the land of Shinano. The name has also been interpreted as deriving from shakujin / ishigami (ç³祠'stone deity'), a term used for sacred stones or rocks that were worshiped as repositories (shintai) of kami (it has been observed that stones or stone items were employed as shintai in many Mishaguji-related shrines), or shakujin (å°ºç¥Â), due to another association with bamboo poles and measuring ropes used in land surveying and boundary marking. The term sakujin (ä½Â祠'harvest / crop deity') has also been suggested as a possible origin. (1990) meanwhile theorized the name to be derived from (mi)sakuchi (honorific prefix 御 mi- + ä½ÂéÂÂ, å²é sakuchi), a spirit (chi; cf. ', oro-chi, mizu-chi) that brings forth or opens up (saku, cf. 'to bloom', 'to tear open', 'to do/make/cultivate/grow'ï¼Âcf. also the verb sakuru/shakuru 'to dig/scoop up') the latent life force present in the soil or the female womb.
Research conducted by local amateur historian in the 1950s revealed a total of over 750 '(Mi)s(h)aguji' shrines within Nagano Prefecture, 109 of which are in the Suwa area (comprising the modern municipalities of Chino, Suwa, Okaya, Shimosuwa, Fujimi, and Hara).
As noted above, worship of kami with names such as 'S(h)aguji' or 'S(h)agoji' are also attested in neighboring areas, being notably widespread throughout the Kantà  and Chà «bu regions of Japan. Shrines enshrining these gods are found in places such as Shizuoka (233 shrines), Aichi (229 shrines), Yamanashi (160 shrines), Mie (140 shrines) and Gifu (116 shrines). On the other hand, such shrines are conspicuously absent in the two prefectures of Niigata and Toyama, located to the north of Nagano.
Imai expanded upon the initial research carried out by folklorist Kunio Yanagita, who noted that the worship of 'Shaguji' is distinctive to eastern Japan. In his 1934 work "Place Names and History" (å°åÂÂã¨æ´å²), Yanagita commented:
In the preface to the 1935 reprint of Ishigami Mondà Â, Yanagita wrote further:
Imai likewise worked on the assumption that these folk deities and shrines bearing similar names are ultimately derived from Suwa. She suggested the following possibility for the belief's dissemination:
Imai's view became influential, leading to the widespread classification of all 'Shaguji'/'Shagoji' deities and shrines under a single category known as 'Mishaguji belief' (ãÂÂã·ã£ã°ã¸信仰, Mishaguji shinkà Â). However, more recent scholarship has challenged the notion that all "Mishaguji-like" deities and shrines across Japan stem from the Suwa region, arguing for a more nuanced categorization. Hotaka Ishino (2018) proposed that the Mishaguji featured in Suwa Shrine rituals, along with derivative or disconnected forms that may have roots in Suwa but have evolved independently, as well as local beliefs elsewhere that only superficially resemble Mishaguji worship, should all be distinguished and analyzed separately. He emphasizes that, in the original Suwa context, only certain individuals had the authority to perform Mishaguji-related rituals. Therefore, any evidence of ishigami worship in areas where these priests would unlikely have traveled is probably unrelated to Suwa's Mishaguji.
Suwa Taisha consists of four main shrines grouped into two sites: the Upper Shrine (Kamisha), located southwest of Lake Suwa, and the Lower Shrine (Shimosha), located on the northwesern side of the lake. Historically, the Upper and the Lower Shrines were two separate entities, each with its own priestly hierarchy and religious ceremonies. The two shrines were each formerly headed by a priest known as the à Âhà Âri (大ç¥Â); the Upper Shrine's à Âhà Âri was unique in that he was regarded upon assuming office as a go-shintai, the physical embodiment of the shrine's deity (Takeminakata or Suwa Daimyà Âjin), and was thus worshiped as a living god (arahitogami). Second to the Upper Shrine's à Âhà Âri was the Kan-no-Osa / Jinchà  (ç¥Âé·) or Jinchà Âkan (ç¥Âé·å®Â), the main priest responsible for overseeing and conducting the Upper Shrine's religious ceremonies, including the investiture ceremony of the à Âhà Âri. It was the Jinchà  who had the sole prerogative of summoning and dismissing the Mishaguji in rites that call for their presence.
The relation between the à Âhà Âri and the Jinchà  is explained in mythic terms by the story of Suwa Daimyà Âjin establishing his presence in Suwa by subjugating the local deity Moriya (also known as Moreya), who formerly controlled the region. After his defeat, Moriya became a subordinate to Suwa Daimyà Âjin. The Jinchà Â<nowiki/>'s clan, the , is said to be descendants of Moriya, while the à Âhà Âri<nowiki/>'s clan, the Suwa, is said to be descended from Suwa Daimyà Âjin.
Mishaguji are believed to be spirits that dwell in rocks, trees, or bamboo leaves, as well as various man-made objects such as phallic stone rods ( sekibà Â), grinding slabs (ç³ç¿ ishizara) or mortars (ç³è¼ ishiusu). In addition to the above, Mishaguji are also thought to descend upon straw effigies as well as possess human beings, especially during religious rituals.
This concept of Mishaguji as a possessing spirit are reflected in texts that describe Mishaguji being 'brought down' (éÂÂç³ oroshi-mà Âsu, i.e. being summoned into a repository, whether human or object) or 'lifted up' (ä¸Âç³ age-mà Âsu, i.e. being dismissed from its vessel) by the Moriya jinchà Âkan, the priest with the exclusive right to call upon Mishaguji in the religious rites of the Suwa Grand Shrine.
Folk beliefs considered Mishaguji to be associated with fertility and the harvest, as well as healers of diseases like the common cold or pertussis. Mishaguji have been worshipped as tutelary deities of whole villages (ç£åÂÂ祠ubusuna-gami) as well as specific kinship groups (ç¥Â祠iwai-gami). Further reflecting this relationship between Mishaguji and local communities is their being believed to preside over the act of founding villages as well as their being associated with the broadly similar concept of saikami (patrons of boundaries or borders).