Takeminakata (ã¿ã±ãÂÂãÂÂã«ã¿), also known as Minakatatomi or Takeminakatatomi, is a kami in Japanese mythology. Also known as or after Suwa Grand Shrine (Suwa Taisha) in Nagano Prefecture in which he is enshrined alongside his consort Yasakatome, Takeminakata is historically worshiped as a god of wind, water and agriculture, as well as a patron of hunting and warfare, in which capacity he enjoyed a particularly fervent cult from various samurai clans during the medieval period such as the Hà Âjà  or the Takeda. Takeminakata was also held to be the mythical ancestor of certain families who once served at the shrine as priests, foremost among them being the Suwa clan, the high priests of the Upper Shrine of Suwa who were also revered as living vessels of the god.
There are multiple, often conflicting accounts regarding the deity. The mythology of the imperial (Yamato) court as recorded in the Kojiki (ca. 712 CE) and the Sendai Kuji Hongi portrays Takeminakata as a son of the god à Âkuninushi who was defeated by the heavenly deity Takemikazuchi and fled to Lake Suwa. Local traditions from Suwa itself, however, present markedly different narratives. These portray him, for example, as an invading deity (sometimes said to have descended from heaven) who subjugated the area's indigenous gods, as an unseen divine presence that chose a young boy as its human embodiment (the future ancestor of the Suwa clan), or as a serpentine or dragon-like being. As worship of the Suwa deity spread throughout Japan from the medieval period onward, additional legends developed, shaped by regional adaptation and the syncretism of Buddhism and Shinto. These later stories often diverged from both Suwa's own traditions and the Yamato court's account, portraying the Suwa deity, for example, as a king from India who manifested in Japan, or identifying him with figures such as the warrior Kà Âga Saburà Â.
The god is named 'Takeminakata-no-Kami' () in both the Kojiki (ca. 712 CE) and the Sendai Kuji Hongi (ca. 807-936 CE). Variants of the name found in the imperially commissioned national histories and other literary sources include the following:
The etymology of the name '(Take)minakata(tomi)' is unclear. While most commentators seem to agree that take- (and probably -tomi) are honorifics, they differ in how to interpret the other components of the name. Some of the proposed solutions are as follows.
During the medieval and early modern periods, the god enshrined in Suwa Grand Shrine â specifically, in the Upper Shrine (Kamisha) located southeast of Lake Suwa â was popularly known as Suwa Daimyà Âjin ( / è«Âæ¹大æÂÂç¥Â) or Suwa Myà Âjin (), a name also applied via metonymy to the shrine itself. The name '(Take)minakata(tomi)' was rarely used, if at all, during this period: indeed, medieval documents from Suwa Shrine simply refer to the god as sonshin / sonjin (å°Âç¥Â, "revered deity") or myà Âjin (æÂÂç¥Â, "bright deity" or "manifest deity"). This however is hardly unusual, as before the early modern period use of titles such as myà Âjin or gongen for various gods and their shrines were so widespread that these deities were rarely referred to by their classical names.
Other epithets applied to the Suwa deity include Nangà « Daimyà Âjin (Ã¥ÂÂ宮大æÂÂç¥Â, "Daimyà Âjin of the Southern Shrine (Nangà «)"), Hosshà  Daimyà Âjin (æ³Âæ§大æÂÂç¥Â, "Dharma-Nature Daimyà Âjin"), a combination of the two such as Nangà « Hosshà  Daimyà Âjin (Ã¥ÂÂå®®æ³Âæ§大æÂÂç¥Â), or Suwa Hosshà  Kamishimo (or Jà Âge) Daimyà Âjin (è«Â訪æ³Âæ§ä¸Âä¸Â大æÂÂç¥Â, "Dharma-Nature Daimyà Âjin of the Upper and Lower Suwa [Shrines]"). Some of the war banners used by Sengoku daimyà  Takeda Shingen (a devotee of the god) for instance contain the inscription Suwa Nangà « Hosshà  Kamishimo / Jà Âge Daimyà Âjin (è«Â訪åÂÂå®®æ³Âæ§ä¸Âä¸Â大æÂÂ祠/ è«Âæ¹åÂÂå®®æ³Âæ§ä¸Âä¸Â大æÂÂç¥Â). A hanging scroll given by Emperor Go-Nara (reigned 1526âÂÂ1557) to the Upper Shrine in 1553 (Tenbun 22), written in the emperor's own calligraphy, refers to the god as Suwa Shà Âichii Nangà « Hossho Daimyà Âjin (è«Âæ¹æ£ä¸Âä½ÂÃ¥ÂÂå®®æ³Âæ§大æÂÂç¥Â, "Dharma-Nature Daimyà Âjin of the Suwa Nangà «, of Upper First Rank").
A number of explanations have been proposed for the origin of the term Nangà «. One theory posits it to refer to the geographical location of the Upper Suwa Shrine, which is located southeast of Lake Suwa, at the southern half of Shinano Province, while another claims it to be derived from 'Minakatatomi' (Ã¥ÂÂæ¹åÂÂç¾Â), one of the variant names for the deity, with minakata being apparently understood to mean "south(ern)" (cf. etymology of 'Takeminakata' above). The term has also been interpreted to come from the medieval belief that the Suwa deity was the guardian of the south side of the imperial palace or the Shinto-Buddhist concept that the god is an enlightened being who manifested in this world, which in Buddhist cosmology is the southern continent of Jambudvëpa.
Aside from Suwa Shrine, Nangà « was also applied to Kanayamahiko Shrine in Mino Province (modern Nangà « Taisha in Gifu Prefecture) and Aekuni Shrine (Ã¥ÂÂ宮大è©è©, Nangà « Daibosatsu) in Iga Province (modern Mie Prefecture). A song in the late Heian period anthology Ryà Âjin Hishà  associates the three shrines together, with Suwa Shrine being identified as the "head" of the three Nangà « shrines (Ã¥ÂÂå®®ã®æ¬山, nangu no honzan), the shrine at Mino as the "midmost shrine" (ä¸Âã®宮, naka no miya), and the shrine at Iga as the "youngest shrine" (ç¨Âã®宮, chigo no miya).
Hosshà Â, meanwhile, is believed to refer to the concept of the dharmakÃÂya (æ³Âæ§身, hosshà Âshin), the formless, transcendent ultimate truth that is the source of all buddhas, which are its physical manifestations (nirmÃÂá¹ÂakÃÂya). A certain medieval legend claims that the Suwa deity chose an eight-year-old boy to become his priest while declaring: "I have no (physical) body and so make this priest my body".
Takeminakata is portrayed in both the Kojiki and the Sendai Kuji Hongi as a son of the god à Âkuninushi, although the former does not include him in its genealogy of à Âkuninushi's children. The Kuji Hongi meanwhile identifies him as the son of à Ânamuchi (à Âkuninushi) with one of his wives, Nunakawahime of Koshi.
Takeminakata appears in both the Kojiki and the Kuji Hongi in the context of à Âkuninushi's "transfer of the land" (kuni-yuzuri) to the amatsukami, the gods of the heavenly realm of Takamagahara.
When the heavenly deities, headed by the sun goddess Amaterasu and/or the primordial deity Takamimusubi, sent Takemikazuchi and another messenger to demand that à Âkuninushi relinquish his authority over the earthly realm of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni (the "Central Land of Reed-Plains") to Amaterasu's progeny, he told the messengers to consult his son Kotoshironushi, who immediately accepted their demands and advised his father to do likewise. Upon being asked if he had any other sons who ought to express their opinion, à Âkuninushi told the messengers that he had another son named Takeminakata. Takeminakata then appeared, bearing a heavy boulder (Ã¥ÂÂå¼Âä¹Âç³, chibiki no iwa, i.e. a boulder so large it would take a thousand men to pull) on his fingertips, challenging Takemikazuchi to a test of strength. Takeminakata attempted to grab the messenger's arm(s), but Takemikazuchi transformed them into a column of ice and then a sword blade, frightening him. Takemikazuchi then retaliated by grasping and crushing Takeminakata's arm(s) "like a young reed." The defeated god fled to "the sea of Suwa in the land of Shinano," where he was cornered. To save his life, Takeminakata vowed never to leave Suwa and gave his assent to his father's and brother's decision. With Takeminakata's surrender, à Âkuninushi finally ceded the land to the amatsukami and withdrew himself into the unseen spirit world.
The opening section of the Suwa Daimyà Âjin Ekotoba, a Nanboku-chà  period compilation of legends and other information regarding Suwa Shrine and its festivals completed in 1356, retells the Kuji Hongi version of this story, albeit with Takeminakata's shameful defeat in the hands of Takemikazuchi notably omitted.
Originally, it was believed that the compiler, (1295-1364), a member of a branch of the Suwa clan based in Kyoto, deliberately edited the story to cast the shrine's deity in a more favorable light. However, recent scholarship by Ryà Âtarà  Maeda (2020) suggests Enchà « did not have access to the Kuji Hongi text itself; rather, he appears to have relied on an abridged excerpt titled "The Matter of Suwa Shrine" (è«Âæ¹社äºÂ, Suwa-sha no koto) that happened to omit the passage describing TakeminakataâÂÂs defeat. This text is found appended to the Kojiki Jà Âkan-shà  (å¤äºÂè¨Âä¸Âå·»æÂÂ,âÂÂExcerpt from the Upper Volume of the KojikiâÂÂ), a manuscript copy of the Kojiki<nowiki/>'s kuni-yuzuri account preserved in the library of Shinpuku-ji (à Âsu Kannon) in Nagoya.
This excerpt is thought to have been produced by the Urabe clan, a priestly lineage associated with the Yoshida and Hirano Shrines in Kyoto influential in the Department of Divinities (Jingi-kan). The Urabe frequently utilized the Kuji Hongi as a primary reference for inquiries regarding shrine origins. During his research for what would become the Ekotoba, Enchà « is known to have consulted with two Urabe clan membersâÂÂUrabe Kanetoyo (Ã¥ÂÂé¨堼è±Â) of the Yoshida branch, then serving as senior assistant director (ç¥Âç¥Â大è¼Â, jingi taifu) of the Jingi-kan, and Urabe Kanemae (Ã¥ÂÂé¨堼åÂÂ) of the Hirano branch. It is highly probable that one of these men provided Enchà « with the redacted account.
The ambiguity in the classical Chinese syntax also allowed Enchà « to reinterpret the narrative. While the original myth has Takemikazuchi transforming his own arm into ice and a sword, the Ekotoba presents it as Takeminakata manifesting these elements as a display of his power (å³氷ã²æÂÂç«ÂãÂÂÃ¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂã²åÂÂæÂÂ, "he (Takeminakata) caused ice to appear, and then he manifested a sword"). This reinterpretation transformed Takeminakata from a defeated figure into a triumphant god who chose to remain in Suwa of his own volition.
A Shinto-Buddhist liturgical text (è¬Âå¼Â, kà Âshiki) composed by Enchà « around the same time period as the Ekotoba, the Suwa Daimyà Âjin Koshiki (è«Âæ¹大æÂÂç¥Âè¬Âå¼Â), makes use of the Kugi Hongi account in a similar vein:
This more heroic depiction of Takeminakata in the Ekotoba and the KÃ Âshiki had a lasting impact, especially before the Kojiki became widely popular during the Edo period. It introduced this version of the myth (which seems to have originally been specific to the imperial court and was unknown in Suwa itself - see 'Analysis' below) to the Suwa region, where it influenced subsequent texts.
According to Maeda (2023), the Ekotoba was probably not introduced to Suwa before the 17th century, although the Kà Âshiki seems to have been known earlier among Suwa ShrineâÂÂs priestly families, as indicated by allusions in late 15th-century documents produced by the Upper ShrineâÂÂs Moriya clan (). Over time, the Ekotoba gained acceptance among SuwaâÂÂs priestly clans, who produced numerous copies of it. For example, the Shinshu Suwa Daimyà Âjin Engi (ä¿¡å·Âè«Âæ¹大æÂÂç¥Âç¸Âèµ·, "The Origin Story of Suwa Daimyà Âjin of Shinano Province"), written in 1684 by the hatamoto (1646-1695), the younger brother of Suwa Tadaharu, the third daimyà  of Takashima Domain, retells the reinterpreted kuni-yuzuri myth. Morieda framed Takeminakata's actions in a Neo-Confucian light, comparing his ceding of the land to a meritorious act of filial piety comparable to Taibo's renunciation of the throne of Zhou.
Even in the 19th century, when knowledge of the Kojiki and its less flattering account of Takeminakata's defeat became more widespread, this positive reinterpretation persisted within Suwa: a mid-19th century genealogical chart of Takeminakata issued by the Upper Shrine for instance quotes the Shinshu Suwa Daimyà Âjin Engi. A document submitted in 1834 to the Commissioner of Shrines and Temples (Jisha-bugyà Â) by the Lower Shrine's Momoi clan (æ¡ÂäºÂæ°Â) of priests relates the following:
A third text found in the Moriya family archives titled "The Origin of Suwa Daimyà Âjin" (è«Â訪大æÂÂç¥Âç±æÂÂ¥, Suwa Daimyà Âjin yurai) features Takeminakata striking fear into Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi after displaying his power to them, only agreeing to cede Ashihara no Nakatsukuni after he was convinced by their reasoning. The three then go to Suwa, where they defeat the local deity Moriya (see below).
Similar attempts at retelling or reinterpreting the myth in a more positive way are found in other texts. In one version, for instance, Takeminakata is portrayed as going to Suwa not so much to flee from Takemikazuchi but to pacify it under the orders of his father à Âkuninushi.
A variant found in a commentary on the Nihon Shoki penned by a 15th-century monk named Shun'yu (æÂ¥çÂÂ), the Nihon Shoki Shikenmon (æ¥澸ç´Âç§Âè¦ÂèÂÂ), claims 'Suwa Daimyà Âjin' (è«Âé²大æÂÂç¥Â) to be the third son of the deity , the guardian deity of Mount Hiei. After engaging in a failed rebellion against Amaterasu, the deity surrendered and settled down in the land of Shinano.
Local legends from within Nagano Prefecture claim Takeminakata to have passed or stayed in various places within the region during his escape. A local legend in Shimoina District (located south of Suwa) for instance claims that Takemikazuchi caught up with the fleeing Takeminakata in the modern village of Toyooka, where they agreed to an armistice and left imprints of their hands on a rock as a sign of their agreement. The rock, bearing the gods' supposed handprints (tegata), is found in Otegata Shrine (御æÂÂå½¢ç¥Â社) in Toyooka. After Takemikazuchi's departure, Takeminakata temporarily resided in the neighboring village of à Âshika, where he discovered hot springs of saltwater while hunting for deer.
The contest between Takemikazuchi and Takeminakata has also been sometimes interpreted as an origin myth for sumo wrestling and aiki. This interpretation apparently follows an alternative reading of the text which sees Takemikazuchi as not so much crushing and tearing Takeminakata's arm(s) off but seizing him by the arm and throwing him into the ground.
A foundational myth from the Suwa area portrays the advent of Suwa Myà Âjin and his conflict with the local god Moriya (Moreya). This story is recorded in several medieval texts, each with unique details.
The Suwa Daimyà Âjin Ekotoba relates a variant of this myth as an origin story of Fujishima Shrine (è¤島社) in Suwa City, one of the Upper Shrine's auxiliary shrines where its yearly rice-planting ceremony is traditionally held. In this version, the deity of Fujishima Shrine (è¤å¶ÂãÂÂæÂÂç¥Â, Fujishima no Myà Âjin) - usually equated with Suwa Myà Âjin - defeats "Moriya the evil outlaw" (æ´©ç¢ãÂÂæ¡è³Â, Moriya no akuzoku) with a wisteria branch:
Another version of this myth is recorded in the Suwa Nobushige Gejà  (è«Â訪信éÂÂ解ç¶, "The Petition of Suwa Nobushige"). This document purports to be a formal petition submitted in 1249 by the Upper Shrine of Suwa's high priest or à Âhà Âri (大ç¥Â), Suwa Nobushige, to the Kamakura shogunate in order to assert the Upper Shrine's primacy and legitimacy over the Lower Suwa Shrine. However, it is now regarded by some scholars as apocryphal, likely a forgery created in the 14th century or later. In this version, the Suwa deity is portrayed as descending from heaven in order to take possession of the land of 'Moriya Daijin' (å®Âå±Â大è£, lit. 'Minister Moriya').
This portrayal of Suwa Myà Âjin as a heavenly deity can also be observed in other texts such as the Inako à Âmatsubara Daimyà Âjin Engi (ä¼Âé£å¤大æ¾åÂÂ大æÂÂç¥Âç¸Âèµ·), the origin narrative of Matsubara Suwa Shrine (located in the town of Koumi at the eastern part of Nagano Prefecture) composed in 1340, where Suwa Myà Âjin describes his descent couched in Buddhist terminology:
Moriya being called 'Minister Moriya' (Moriya Daijin) in the Gejà  suggests that the deity was already being conflated with the historical figure Mononobe no Moriya at the time the text was composed. The Suwa Daimyà Âjin Kà Âshiki already hints at this connection by drawing a parallel between the two figures:
The local deity Moriya's outright conflation with Mononobe no Moriya can already be observed in the Jinshi Keizu (ç¥Âæ°Âç³»å³, "Genealogy of the Jin (Miwa) Clan"), a lineage record of the Kyoto branch of the Suwa clan attributed to Suwa Sadamichi (è«Â訪è²ÂéÂÂ), Enchà «'s third great-grandson and the copyist of the extant Kà Âshiki manuscript. The text dates the arrival of Suwa Myà Âjin during the reign of Emperor Yà Âmei (585-587) - the precise era of the historical conflict between Prince Shà Âtoku and Mononobe no Moriya - and describes him as defeating 'Moriya' (å®Âå±Â) in a battle at Mount Moriya. This same variant appears in another genealogical record of the Suwa clan.
While medieval sources situated the battle between the two deities on the slopes of Mount Moriya near the Upper Shrine, Edo period texts present a variant tradition placing the conflict along the Tenryà « River in present-day Okaya, where a shrine to Moriya stands. On the opposite shore stood a late 6th-century burial mound, which eventually came to be identified as the "Fujishima Shrine" of the myth. Local folklore recounted that wisteria vines from these opposing sites once entwined over the river, flourishing into a natural canopy so dense it resembled a massive bridge, until they were cut down by order of the local daimyà  in the late 17th century.
Growing familiarity with the Kojiki<nowiki/>'s negative portrayal of Takeminakata gradually reshaped local tradition. For instance, the Jinchà  Moriya-shi Keifu (ç¥Âé·å®Âç¢æ°Âç³»èÂÂ, "Genealogy of the Jinchà  Moriya Clan"), compiled in the early Meiji period, recontextualizes the local conflict: it depicts 'Minakatatomi-no-Mikoto' battling Moriya (who then surrenders and pledges his allegiance to him) after he had "fled from Izumo to the sea of Suwa." This version definitively harmonized the originally unrelated myths, setting the precedent for subsequent retellings.
Besides Moriya, local folklore describes other deities who submitted to or resisted the Suwa deity's rule. One such figure was Yatsukao-no-Mikoto (ç¢å¡Âç·å½), also known as Ganigawara (è¹河åÂÂé·è Ganigawara-chà Âja), portrayed in a late legend as a powerful horse breeder who is said to have opposed both Takeminakata and his new ally, Moriya. According to this story, Ganigawara held Moriya in contempt for surrendering and had his servants harass him. When the harassment escalated to violence against Takeminakata's dwelling, Takeminakata retaliated. In the ensuing battle, Ganigawara was mortally wounded. Begging Moriya for forgiveness, he entrusted his youngest daughter to Takeminakata, who in turn gave her in marriage to the god Taokihooi-no-Mikoto (æÂÂç½®å¸Âè² å½), also known as Hikosachi-no-Kami (彦çÂÂçÂ¥ç¥Â), who had been injured by Ganigawara's men.
In another legend, a god named Takei-à Âtomonushi (æ¦屠大伴主祠or æ¦屠大åÂÂ主ç¥Â) swore allegiance to Takeminakata and became the ancestor of a line of priests in the Lower Shrine known as the Takeihà Âri (æ¦屠ç¥Â). Yet another story relates that the Suwa deity forbade the goddess of Sakinomiya Shrine (å Âå®®ç¥Â社) in Owa, Suwa City from building a bridge over the creek before her shrine as punishment for her refusal to submit to him.
Before the abolition of the Suwa Shrine's traditional priestly offices during the Meiji period, the Upper Shrine's high priest or à Âhà Âri (, 'great priest'; alt. ãÂÂãÂÂã¯ãµãÂÂ, à Âhafuri; historical orthography: ãÂÂãÂȋ¯ãµãÂÂ, Ohohafuri) was a young boy chosen from the Suwa clan, who was, during his term of office, considered to be a living god, the visible incarnation or 'body' of the unseen god of the shrine.
The legend of how Suwa Myà Âjin chose his first priest is recounted in various sources:
Although most sources (such as the Ekotoba above) identify the boy as Arikazu, a semi-legendary figure who is said to have lived in the 9th century (early Heian period) during the reign of Emperor Kanmu (781-806) or his immediate successors Heizei (806-809) or Saga (809-823), two genealogical lists - of disputed historical reliability - instead identify the first priest with an individual named Otoei (ä¹Âé ´) or Kumako (ç¥Âå or çÂÂå¤), a son of Mase-gimi (麻èÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ) or Iotari (äºÂç¾足), head of the Kanasashi clan and kuni no miyatsuko of Shinano during the late 6th century.
A medieval Buddhist legend portrays Suwa Myà Âjin as a king from India who later achieved enlightenment and went to Japan to become a native kami.
A short text attached to a late 15th century copy of an ordinance regulating the Upper Shrine's ritual purity taboos (ç©å¿Âã¿ monoimi) originally enforced in 1238 and revised in 1317, the Suwa Kamisha monoimi no rei no koto (è«Â訪ä¸Â社ç©å¿Â令ä¹ÂäºÂ), relates that 'Takeminakata Myà Âjin' (æ¦御åÂÂæ¹æÂÂç¥Â) was originally the ruler of a certain Indian kingdom called 'Hadai' (波堤å½ Hadai-koku) who survived an insurrection instigated by a rebel named 'Moriya' (å®Âå± or å®Âæ´©) during the king's absence while the latter was out hunting deer. After going to Persia to rescue its inhabitants from an evil dragon, the king ruled over it for some time as 'Emperor Suwa' (é¬波çÂÂ帠Suwa Kà Âtei) before retiring to "cultivate the seedling of virtue and realize the Buddhist path." He eventually manifested in Japan, appearing in various places before finally choosing to dwell in Suwa.
The Suwa Daimyà Âjin Ekotoba relates a slightly different, fuller version of the first half of this story as an origin myth for the Upper Shrine's hunting ceremony held every seventh month of the year at Misayama (御å°Âå±±) on the slopes of the Yatsugatake Mountains:
<blockquote>If one should inquire about the origins (å 縠in'en, lit. 'causes and conditions') of this hunt: long ago, the Daimyà Âjin was the king of the land of Hadai in India who went out to hunt at Deer Park from the twenty-seventh to the thirtieth day of the seventh month. At that time, a traitorous vassal named Bikyà  (ç¾ÂæÂÂ) suddenly organized an army and sought to kill the king. The king, ringing a golden bell, looked up to heaven and shouted eight times: "I am now about to be killed by this rebel. I have hunted animals, not for my own enjoyment, but in order to lead them to the Buddhist path. If this my action is in accordance with Heaven's will, may Brahmàsave me."<br /> Brahmàthen saw this and commanded the four great deva-kings to wield vajra-poles and destroy the army. It is said that the Misayama (ä¸Âé½Âå±±) of today reflects that event.<br /> ... One should know, therefore, that the deity's compassionate hunting is an expedient means for the salvation of creatures.</blockquote>
Regarding the Upper Shrine's hunting rituals, the Monoimi no rei asserts that
<blockquote>[The shrine's] hunts began in the deer park of Hadai-no-kuni [in India]. [The use of] hawks began in Magada-no-kuni.</blockquote>
The second half of the legend (the slaying of the dragon in Persia and the king's migration to Japan) is used by the Ekotoba<nowiki />'s compiler, Suwa Enchà «, in a liturgical text, the Suwa Daimyà Âjin Kà Âshiki (è«Âæ¹大æÂÂç¥Âè¬Âå¼Â), where it is introduced as an alternative, if somewhat less credible, account of the Suwa deity's origins (in comparison to the myth of Takeminakata of Izumo as found in the Kuji Hongi, touted by the same text as the authoritative origin story of the god) that nevertheless should not be suppressed. In this text, the king of Hadai is claimed to be a great-great-grandson of King Siá¹Âhahanu (ç åÂÂé ¬ç Shishikyà Â-à Â), Gautama Buddha's grandfather. Bikyà Â, the rebel who raised up an army against the king in India - identified as an incarnation of the Demon King (éÂÂçÂÂ) - is also said to have eventually manifested in Japan, opposing the deity in Suwa as "Moriya the evil outlaw."
A similar account appears in a work known as the Suwa Jinja Engi (è«Â訪ç¥Â社ç¸Âèµ·) or Suwa Shintà  Engi (è«Â訪ç¥ÂéÂÂç¸Âèµ·), wherein the Suwa deity is identified as the son of Kibonnà  (貴飯çÂÂ), the son of Amá¹Âtodana (çÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ飯ç Kanrobonnà Â), one of Siá¹Âhahanu's four sons. The Lower Shrine's goddess, meanwhile, is the daughter of Prasenajit (æ³¢æ¯å¿ç Hashinoku-à Â), claimed here to be the son of Dronodana (é»Â飯ç Kokubonnà Â), another son of Siá¹Âhananu.
During the Misayama festival as performed during the medieval period, the à Âhà Âri recited a ritual declaration supposedly composed by the Suwa deity himself known as the Suwa Mishirushibumi (é¬波御è¨ÂæÂÂ), which begins:
<blockquote>I, Great King Suwa (é¬波大çÂÂ), have hidden my person during [the year/month/day of] the Yang Wood Horse (ç²å kinoe-uma).<br /> [The name] 'Suwa' (é¬波) and [the sign] Yang Wood Horse [and] the seal (å°æÂÂ) - these three are all one and the same.</blockquote>
Within the text, King Suwa (i.e. Suwa Myà Âjin) declares the à Âhà Âri to be his 'true body' (çÂÂç¥Âä½ shin no shintai) and the Misayama (ä¸ÂæÂÂå±±) hunting grounds below Yatsugatake (here likened to Vulture Peak in India) to be another manifestation of himself that cleanses (æÂÂ) the three (ä¸Â) evils: evil thoughts, evil speech and evil actions. He promises that whoever sets foot at Misayama will not fall into the lower, evil realms of existence (æª趣 akushu); conversely, the god condemns and disowns whoever defiles the hunting grounds by cutting down its trees or digging out the soil.
A commentary on the Mishirushibumi, the Suwa Shichà « (é¬波ç§Â注 "Personal Notes on the Suwa Mishirusibumi," written 1313âÂÂ1314), elaborates on the text by retelling the legend of Suwa Myà Âjin's consecration of his first priest:
<blockquote>The Daimyà Âjin was born during [the year/month/day of] the Yang Wood Horse and disappeared during [the year/month/day of] the Yang Wood Horse.<br /> Sokutan Daijin (ç¶Âæ¦大è£) was the Daimyà Âjin's uncle who accompanied him from India. When the Daimyà Âjin was to disappear, he took off his garments, put them on the Daijin, and dubbed him the Misogihà Âri (御衣æ¨æ³ÂçÂÂ). He then pronounced a vow: "You shall consider this priest to be my body."</blockquote>
The same text identifies the god's uncle Sokutan Daijin with Arikazu.
Two texts, the Monoimi no rei and the Suwa Shichà « (é¬波ç§Â注 "Personal Notes on the Suwa Mishirusibumi," written 1313âÂÂ1314), mention an oral legend about Suwa Myà Âjin pacifying the waves of the four seas by subduing an unruly frog god.
<blockquote>Suwa (é¬波) should be read as "the waves are calm." When a frog god (è¦èÂÂç¥Â), being a harmful god (èÂÂ祠kà Âjin), caused suffering to the realm, the Daimyà Âjin quelled it and came to reside here; [because] the four seas were calm, it is called Suwa.</blockquote>
After defeating this frog, Suwa Myà Âjin then blocked the way to its dwelling - a hole leading to the underwater palace of the dragon god of the sea, the Ryà «gà «-jà  - with a rock and sat on it.
This story functions as an etiological legend for the annual sacrifice of frogs held every New Year's Day in the Upper Shrine (see below) as well as yet another folk etymology for the toponym 'Suwa' (rendered here as é¬波), here explained as deriving either from a term for a wave lapping onto the sea's edge or a reference to the deity's pacification of the waters: "the waves are calm."
The portrayal of Suwa Myà Âjin's enemy as a frog also hints at the deity's character as a serpentine water god. (As a point of comparison, the obscure snake god Ugajin was also credited with defeating a malevolent frog deity.) The frog god itself has been interpreted either as representing the native deities Mishaguji and/or Moriya, with its defeat symbolizing the victory of the cult of Suwa Myà Âjin over the indigenous belief system, or as a symbol of the Buddhist concept of the three poisons (ignorance, greed, and hatred), which Suwa Myà Âjin, as an incarnation of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, his esoteric aspect Vajrasattva and the Wisdom King Trailokyavijaya (interpreted as a manifestation of Vajrasattva), is said to destroy.
Folk belief has long held the god of Suwa Shrine to assume the form of a serpent or dragon. Consequently, the deity appears as such in a number of folktales and anecdotes.
In one such story, Suwa Myà Âjin once came to Izumo Province in the form of a dragon so gigantic that only his head can be seen; his tail was still at Suwa, caught in a tall pine tree by the shores of the lake. The other gods, upon seeing him, were so astounded and frightened at his enormous size that they exempted him from attending their yearly meetings. Thus, the deity of Suwa is claimed to be one of the very few kami in Japan who do not leave their shrines during the month of Kannazuki, when most gods are thought to gather at Izumo and thus are absent from most of the country. The supposed tree where the dragon's tail was caught (currently reduced to a stump) is locally known as .
A variant of this story transposes the setting from Izumo to the Imperial Palace in Kyoto; in this version, the various kami are said to travel to the ancient capital every New Year's Day to greet the emperor.
Another popular story promulgated by wandering preachers associated with the shrines of Suwa during the medieval period claimed the Suwa deity to have originally been Kà Âga Saburà Â, a warrior who temporarily became a dragon or a snake after a journey into the underworld.
Cracks and ridges that form on a frozen Lake Suwa during cold winters have traditionally been interpreted as the trail left behind by Suwa Myà Âjin as he leaves the Upper Shrine and crosses the lake to meet his wife enshrined on the Lower Shrine on the opposite (northern) shore. Called Omiwatari (御ç¥Â渡 'the god's crossing' or 'the god's pathway'), the cracks were considered to be a good omen for the coming year. The priests of the Grand Shrine of Suwa traditionally used the crack's appearance to divine the quality of the year's harvest. For the locals, the crack also served as a sign that the frozen lake was safe to walk upon. Conversely, the omiwatari<nowiki/>'s failure to appear at all (æÂÂæµ· ake no umi) or the cracks forming in an unusual way were held to be a sign of bad luck for the year.
Since the late 20th century, the omiwatari has become a much rarer sight than it was in the past due to rising temperatures caused by global warming.
Suwa Myà Âjin is also considered to be a god of war, one of a number of such deities in the Japanese pantheon. The Ryà Âjin Hishà  compiled in 1179 (the late Heian period) also attest to the worship of the god of Suwa in the capacity of god of warfare at the time of its compilation, naming the shrine of Suwa among famous shrines to martial deities in the eastern half of the country.
During the medieval period, legends claiming Suwa Myà Âjin to have appeared and provided assistance to eminent figures such as Empress Jingà « or the general Sakanoue no Tamuramaro during their respective military campaigns circulated.
The god of Suwa was also credited with the attempted Mongol invasions of Japan under Kublai Khan. The Taiheiki recounts a story where a five-colored cloud resembling a serpent (a manifestation of the god) rose up from Lake Suwa and spread away westward to assist the Japanese army against the Mongols.
<blockquote>On the seventh day, when the Imperial devotions were completed, from Lake Suwa there arose a cloud of many colours, in shape like a great serpent, which spread away towards the west. The doors of the Temple-treasury of Hachiman flew open, and the skies were filled with a sound of galloping horses and of ringing bits. In the twenty-one shrines of Yoshino the brocade-curtained mirrors moved, the swords of the Temple-treasury put on a sharp edge, and all the shoes offered to the god turned towards the west. At Sumiyoshi sweat poured from below the saddles of the four horses sacred to the deities, and the iron shields turned of themselves and faced the enemy in a line.</blockquote>
Takeminakata's abrupt appearance in the Kojiki<nowiki />'s version of the kuni-yuzuri myth has long puzzled scholars, as the god is mentioned nowhere else in the work, including the genealogy of à Âkuninushi's progeny that precedes the kuni-yuzuri narrative proper. Aside from the parallel account contained in the Kuji Hongi (which was itself based on the Kojiki), he is altogether absent from the Nihon Shoki<nowiki />'s version of the myth. Early documents from Izumo such as the province's Fudoki also fail to mention any god named '(Take)minakata', nor is there apparently any sign of Takeminakata worship in Izumo in antiquity.
Pre-modern authors such as Motoori Norinaga tended to explain Takeminakata's absence outside of the Kojiki and the Kuji Hongi by conflating the god with certain obscure deities found in other sources thought to share certain similar characteristics (e.g. Isetsuhiko). While a few modern scholars still suppose some kind of indirect connection between the deity and Izumo by postulating that Takeminakata's origins lie either in peoples that migrated from Izumo northwards to Suwa and the Hokuriku region or in Hokuriku itself (the ancient province of Koshi, a region apparently once under Izumo's sphere of influence as can be inferred from the myth of à Âkuninushi's marriage to Nunakawahime), others instead propose that the connection between Takeminakata and Izumo is an artificial construct by the Kojiki<nowiki/>'s compilers.
The contest between Takeminakata and Takemikazuchi - an element absent in other versions of the kuni-yuzuri myth cycle - is often explained as being either a new myth invented to serve the interests of the imperial court and the Fujiwara clan, descendants of the Nakatomi clan that had worshiped Takemikazuchi as a patron deity (indeed, in other versions it is the god Futsunushi that takes center stage rather than Takemikazuchi, who is believed to have taken on Futsunushi's roles and attributes after the Nakatomi rose to power), or an adaptation/reversal of a myth concerning a battle between an interloping god and a local deity preserved in the Suwa region (see below), with Takeminakata (the invading conqueror in Suwa myth) being recast into the role of the subjugated earthly kami.
The myth of Takeminakata's (Suwa Myà Âjin's) arrival in Suwa and his defeat of the god Moriya has been interpreted as the mythicization of a historical event in which a local lineage of chieftains who ruled the Suwa area was subjugated by invading outsiders, who subsequently set themselves up as the new rulers of the region - all the while still retaining the subjugated clan in an important position as the wielder of spiritual and ritual authority. This theory explains the relation between the Suwa (Miwa/Jin) and Moriya priestly families of the Upper Shrine of Suwa as that of the Moriya clan being the regional power supplanted by the newly arrived Miwa (Suwa) clan.
While one theory places this event during the end of the Jà Âmon period, thus portraying the new arrivals as agrarian Yayoi tribes who came into conflict with indigenous Jà Âmon hunter-gatherers, others instead propose this conflict to have taken place during the late Kofun period (late 6th-early 7th century), when keyhole-shaped burial mounds containing equestrian gear as grave goods - up to this point found mainly in the Shimoina region southwest of Suwa - begin to appear in the Lake Suwa area, replacing the kind of burial that had been common in the region since the early 5th century. This theory thus supposes these migrants to have been a clan allied with the Yamato kingdom that specialized in horse breeding and horseback riding. Indeed, the Yamato polity showed strong interest to Shinano because of its suitability as a place for grazing and breeding horses and considered it a strategic base for conquering the eastern regions. This clan, the Miwa (Suwa), is thought to be related to either the Kanasashi clan (éÂÂåºæ°Â), an offshoot of a local magnate clan (kuni no miyatsuko) that later became the high priestly family of the Lower Shrine of Suwa, or the Miwa (à Âmiwa) clan () originally based on the area around Mount Miwa in Yamato Province. The theory suggests based on archaeological evidence that the Miwa (Suwa) came to the Suwa Basin from Shimoina, making their way northwards along the Tenryà « River. In conjunction with this hypothesis, it is pointed out that in the Nobushige Gejà  (believed to be the earliest attestation of this myth), the Suwa deity is said to have descended from heaven bringing with him bells, a mirror, a saddle and a bridle.
This theory that the legend of the Suwa deity's victory over Moriya reflects historical fact has recently come into question. Due to similarities between certain variants of this myth and medieval legends surrounding Prince Shà Âtoku's defeat of Mononobe no Moriya (e.g. Shà Âtoku's and Suwa Myà Âjin's opponents both being named 'Moriya', the deity's manifestation and the foundation of the Upper Shrine being dated to the year 587 - the same year as the battle between the Soga and the Mononobe clans - in some texts), some see the myth as being highly influenced by such stories about Shà Âtoku (so Ihara, 2008), while others regard it as an outright invention modeled on these legends (Harada, 2018). Aoki (2012) theorizes that the myth developed somewhere during the late Heian and early Kamakura periods, when the deity of Suwa came to be venerated as a warrior god, and cautions against uncritical application of this story to known archaeological data.
While the Kojiki does not yet explicitly mention the worship of Takeminakata in Suwa, by the following century, we see the name applied to the god worshipped in what is now the Grand Shrine of Suwa: aside from the Kuji Hongi<nowiki />'s (807-936 CE) reference to Takeminakata being enshrined in 'Suwa Shrine in Suwa District' the Shoku Nihon Kà Âki mentions the deity 'Minakatatomi-no-Kami of Suwa District, Shinano Province' (ä¿¡æ¿Âå½è«Â訪é¡ ... Ã¥ÂÂæ¹åÂÂç¾Âç¥Â) being promoted from rankless (æ ä½Â) to junior fifth rank, lower grade (å¾ÂäºÂä½Âä¸Â) by the imperial court in the year 842 CE (Jà Âwa 9).
During the 850-60s, Takeminakata and his shrine rose very rapidly in rank (Montoku Jitsuroku, Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku), being promoted to the rank of junior fifth, upper grade (å¾ÂäºÂä½Âä¸Â) in 850 (Kashà  3), to junior third (å¾Âä¸Âä½Â) in 851 (Ninju 1), to junior (å¾ÂäºÂä½Â) and then senior second (æ£äºÂä½Â) in 859 (Jà Âgan 1), and finally to junior first rank (å¾Âä¸Âä½Â) in 867 (Jà Âgan 9). The influence of the Kanasashi-no-toneri clan is thought to be behind the deity's sudden progress in rank.
After a few decades, the 'Register of Deities' (ç¥ÂÃ¥ÂÂ帳 Jinmyà Âchà Â) section of the Engishiki (927) speaks of the 'Minakatatomi Shrine(s)' (Ã¥ÂÂæ¹åÂÂç¾Âç¥Â社) as enshrining two deities and being the two major ('eminent') shrines of Suwa district. By 940 (Tengyà  3), the deity had been promoted to the highest rank of senior first (æ£ä¸Âä½Â).
Suwa Myà Âjin's spouse is the goddess , most often considered to be the deity of the Lower Shrine of Suwa or the Shimosha. Unlike the relatively well-documented Suwa Kamisha, very little concrete information is available regarding the origins of the Shimosha and its goddess.
Yasakatome's first historical attestation is in the Shoku Nihon Kà Âki, where the goddess is given the rank of junior fifth, lower grade (å¾ÂäºÂä½Âä¸Â) by the imperial court in the tenth month of Jà Âwa 9 (842 CE), five months after the same rank was conferred on Takeminakata. As Takeminakata rose up in rank, so did Yasakatome, so that by 867 CE, Yasakatome had been promoted to senior second (æ£äºÂä½Â). The goddess was finally promoted to senior first rank (æ£ä¸Âä½Â) in 1074 (Jà Âhà  1).
Stories and claims about the goddess are diverse and contradictory. Regarding her parentage for instance, the lore of Kawaai Shrine (å·Âä¼Âç¥Â社) in Kitaazumi District identifies Yasakatome as the daughter of Watatsumi, god of the sea, which has been seen as hinting to a connection between the goddess and the seafaring Azumi clan (). Another claim originating from sources dating from the Edo period is that Yasakatome was the daughter of Ame-no-yasakahiko (天堫åÂÂ彦å½), a god recorded in the Kuji Hongi as one of the companions of Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto when the latter came down from heaven.
The ice cracks that appear on Lake Suwa during cold winters, the omiwatari (see above) are reputed in folklore to be caused by Suwa Myà Âjin's crossing the frozen lake to visit Yasakatome.
The Kà Âga Saburà  legend identifies the goddess of the Shimosha with Saburà Â's wife, whose name is given in some variants of the story as 'Princess Kasuga' (æÂ¥æ¥姫 Kasuga-hime).
In Suwa, a number of local deities are popularly considered to be the children of Suwa Myà Âjin and his consort. à Âta (1926) lists the following gods:
The Suwa clan who once occupied the position of head priest or à Âhà Âri of the Suwa Kamisha traditionally considered themselves to be descendants of Suwa Myà Âjin/Takeminakata, although historically they are probably descended from the Kanasashi-no-toneri clan appointed by the Yamato court to govern the Suwa area in the 6th century (see above).
The Suwa à Âhà Âri was assisted by five priests, some of whom were also considered to be descendants of local deities related to Suwa Myà Âjin/Takeminakata. One clan, the Koide (å°Âåºæ°Â), the original occupants of the offices of negi-dayà « (禰å®Â大夫) and gi-no-hà Âri (æ¬ç¥Â), claimed descent from the god Yakine. A second clan, the Yajima (堫島(å¶Â)æ° or ç¢島æ°Â), which served as gon-no-hà Âri (権ç¥Â), considered the god Ikeno'o to be their ancestor.
As the gods of the Grand Shrine of Suwa, Suwa Myà Âjin/Takeminakata and Yasakatome also serve as the deities of shrines belonging to the Suwa shrine network (è«Â訪ç¥Â社 Suwa-jinja) all over Japan.
The Nihon Shoki<nowiki />'s record of Yamato emissaries worshipping the god of Suwa alongside the gods of Tatsuta Shrine - worshipped for their power to control and ward off wind-related disasters such as droughts and typhoons - implies that the Yamato imperial court recognized the deity as a god of wind and water during the late 7th century. One theory regarding the origin of the name '(Take)minakata' even supposes it to derive from a word denoting a body of water (æ°´æ½ minakata; see above).
Snake-shaped iron sickle blades called nagikama (èÂÂéÂÂ) were traditionally used in the Suwa region to ward off strong winds, typhoons and other natural disasters; it was once customary for nagikama to be attached to wooden staves and placed on one corner of the rooftop of the house during the autumn typhoon season. Nagikama are also traditionally hammered onto the trees chosen to become the onbashira of the Suwa Kamisha and Shimosha some time before these are actually felled. In addition to these and other uses, the blades are also distributed to function as shintai for branch shrines of the Suwa shrine network.
Suwa Myà Âjin's association with the snake or the dragon in many stories featuring the god such as the Kà Âga Saburà  legend (see 'Legends of Suwa Myà Âjin' above) might be related to his being considered as a deity presiding over wind and water, due to the association of dragons with winds and the rain in Japanese belief. (See also mizuchi.)
During the Middle Ages, under the then-prevalent synthesis of Buddhism and Shinto, Suwa Myà Âjin was identified with the bodhisattva Samantabhadra (Fugen), with the goddess of the Shimosha being associated with the thousand-armed form of the bodhisattva Avalokiteà Âvara (Senju Kannon). During the medieval period, Buddhist temples and other edifices were erected on the precincts of both shrines, including a stone pagoda called the Tettà  (éÂÂå¡ "iron tower") - symbolizing the legendary iron tower in India where, according to Shingon tradition, Nagarjuna was said to have received esoteric teachings from Vajrasattva (who is sometimes identified with Samantabhadra) - and a sanctuary to Samantabhadra (æ®賢堠Fugendà Â), both of which served at the time as the Kamisha<nowiki />'s main objects of worship.
With the establishment of State Shinto after the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and the subsequent separation of Buddhism and Shinto, the shrine monks (shasà Â) attached to Buddhist temples in the Suwa shrine complex were laicized, with Buddhist symbols and structures being either removed or destroyed; Buddhist ceremonies performed in both the Kamisha and the Shimosha, such as the yearly offering of the Lotus Sutra to Suwa Myà Âjin (involving the placing of a copy of the sutra inside the Tettà Â), were discontinued.
Suwa Myà Âjin is also worshipped as a god of hunting; not surprisingly, some of the Kamisha<nowiki />'s religious ceremonies traditionally involve(d) ritual hunting and/or animal sacrifice.
For instance, the Frog Hunting Ritual (èÂÂç©ç¥Â亠kawazugari shinji) held every New Year's Day involves the shooting (or rather, piercing) of frogs captured from a sacred river or stream within the Kamisha<nowiki />'s precincts with miniature arrows. This ritual - which has come under harsh criticism from local activists and animal rights groups for its perceived cruelty to the frogs involved - was traditionally performed to secure peace and a bountiful harvest for the coming year.
Another festival, the Ontà Âsai (御é Âç¥Â) or the Tori no matsuri (é Âã®ç¥Â, so called because it was formerly held on the Day of the Rooster) currently held every April 15, feature the offering of seventy-five stuffed deer heads (a substitute for freshly cut heads of deer used in the past), as well as the consumption of venison and other game such as wild boar or rabbit, various kinds of seafood and other foodstuffs by the priests and other participants in a ritual banquet.
One of the Suwa Kamisha<nowiki />'s hunting festivals, the Misayama Festival (御å°Âå±±ç¥Â), formerly held in a field - the kà Âya (ç¥Âé 'the god's plain') - at the foot of the Yatsugatake Mountains for five days (from the 26th to the 30th of the seventh month), was one of the grandest festivals in Suwa during the Kamakura period, attracting many of the samurai class from all across Japan who engaged in displays of mounted archery, bouts of sumo wrestling and falconry as part of the festivities, as well as people from all walks of life. The Shimosha also held its own Misayama Festival at the same time as the Kamisha (albeit in a different location), in which various warrior clans also participated.
Suwa Myà Âjin's association with the mountains and hunting is also evident from the description of the à Âhà Âri as sitting upon a deer hide (the deer being an animal thought to be sacred to Suwa Myà Âjin) during the Ontà Âsai ritual as practiced during medieval times.
At a time when slaughter of animals and consumption of meat was frowned upon due to Mahayana Buddhism's strict views on vegetarianism and the general Buddhist opposition against the taking of life, the cult of Suwa Myà Âjin was a unique feature in the Japanese religious landscape for its celebration of hunting and meat eating.
A four-line verse attached to the Kà Âga Saburà  legend popularly known as the Suwa no kanmon (è«Â訪ã®åÂÂæÂÂ) encapsulates the justification of meat eating within a Buddhist framework: by being eaten by humans and 'dwelling' inside their bodies, ignorant animals could achieve enlightenment together with their human consumers.
The Kamisha produced special talismans (鹿é£Âå  kajiki-men "permit to eat venison") and chopsticks (鹿é£Â箸 kajiki-bashi) that were held to allow the bearer to eat meat. Since it was the only one of its kind in Japan, the talisman was popular among hunters and meat eaters. These sacred licenses and chopsticks were distributed to the public both by the priests of the Kamisha as well as wandering preachers associated with the shrine known as oshi (御師), who preached the tale of Suwa Myà Âjin as Kà Âga Saburà  as well as other stories concerning the god and his benefits.
Suwa Myà Âjin is also considered to be a god of war, one of a number of such deities in the Japanese pantheon. Besides the legend of the god's apparition to Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (see above), the Ryà Âjin Hishà  compiled in 1179 (the late Heian period) also attest to the worship of the god of Suwa in the capacity of god of warfare at the time of its compilation, naming the shrine of Suwa among famous shrines to martial deities in the eastern half of the country.
During the Kamakura period, the Suwa clan's association with the shogunate and the Hà Âjà  clan helped further cement Suwa Myà Âjin's reputation as a martial deity. The shrines of Suwa and the priestly clans thereof flourished under the patronage of the Hà Âjà Â, which promoted devotion to the god as a sign of loyalty to the shogunate. Suwa branch shrines became numerous all across Japan, especially in territories held by clans devoted to the god (for instance, the Kantà  region, traditional stronghold of the Minamoto (Seiwa Genji) clan).
The Takeda clan of Kai Province (modern Yamanashi Prefecture) were devotees of Suwa Myà Âjin, its most famous member, the Sengoku daimyà  Takeda Shingen being no exception. His devotion is visibly evident in some of his war banners, which bore the god's name and invocations such as Namu Suwa Nangà « Hosshà  Kamishimo Daimyà Âjin (Ã¥ÂÂç¡è«Âæ¹åÂÂå®®æ³Âæ§ä¸Âä¸Â大æÂÂ祠'Namo Dharma-Nature Daimyà Âjin of the Suwa Upper and Lower Shrines'). The iconic horned helmet with the flowing white hair commonly associated with Shingen, popularly known as the Suwa-hosshà  helmet (è«Â訪æ³Âæ§堠Suwa-hosshà Â-(no)-kabuto), came to be reputed in some popular culture retellings to have been blessed by the god, guaranteeing success in battle to its wearer. Shingen also issued an order for the reinstitution of the religious rites of both the Kamisha and the Shimosha in 1565.