Origin and Godhood of Sekisan Myojin ; 赤山明神の起源と神格

Since previous studies of Sekisan Myojin may have been diverted from the original nature of Sekisan Myojin due to the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism, the rivalry between the Sanmon and Jimon schools, and the extensive use of the Japanese historical sources since the Middle Ages, it is necessary to look at the text from the perspective of the “The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law” (hereafter referred to as “The Records”) by Ennin to the extent possible. In the Records, there are no such titles as Sekisan Myojin or Chishan Deity, but only words such as “the local deity,” “the deities of the mountains and islands of Tengchou,” and “Chishan Dragon King’s palace.” After studying these historical materials, the local deity worshiped by the Japanese ambassador during his voyages was the Dragon King, who was a deity of navigation, as was the Dragon King worshiped at the Chishan Dragon King’s palace. “The local deity” worshiped in Sang Dao was a deity of the waters of the Shandong Peninsula, and it may have been the Dragon King himself. Since the “god of the underworld (sea god)” do not get along with each other, they were worshiped in the waters south of Chishan to harmonize the relationship between them, so the “deities of the mountains and islands of Teng-chou” were actually the gods of the sea. An old monk in Chishan also told us that there had been many Dragon King’s palaces in Chishan since the ancient times. Perhaps this is because the Dragon King belief was passed down from the Tang Dynasty on. According to the history of Chishan and the fieldwork, the Dragon King belief is still very prevalent in Chishan. ; departmental bulletin paper