Iconography of the Palm. 13: Amulets of Jindai Moji. 2
Hachiman Shrine, Yanagida, Yuzawa City
I received this amulet when I gave a talk at the neighborhood association hall on the grounds of Hachiman Shrine in Yanagida, Yuzawa City. Below the words "Chin-ka Sanbashira Okami" (Three Great Deities of Fire Suppression), there is something written that looks like Jindai Moji (ancient Japanese characters). It seems to be an amulet for fire prevention, but what exactly is written below? When I tried to decipher it as Abiru-kusa script, it read "mi-tsu-shi-mu-ka-ha-na-ha-ni," but I have no idea what it means.
The ritual to prevent fires, which had been held since ancient times as a court event at the four corners of the Imperial Palace in June and December, is called the "Chin-ka-sai" (Fire Suppression Festival). A summary of the fire suppression prayer used during this ritual is as follows.
"Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto became husband and wife and gave birth to the eighty islands and the eight million gods. Finally, when they gave birth to the Fire-Producing Deity (Homusubi-no-Kami), Izanami burned her private parts and passed away. They then gave birth to the Water Deity, the Gourd, Haniyama-hime, and the Watercress, and taught that one should calm the raging heart of the Fire-Producing Deity with the Water Deity, the Gourd, Haniyama-hime, and the Watercress."
As written here, "mi-tsu-shi-mu-ka-ha-na-ha-ni" refers to the "Water Deity, Watercress, and Clay (Hani)," which were the names of the offerings during the fire suppression ritual. The Three Great Deities of Fire Suppression are the three gods: Homusubi-no-Kami (Fire-Producing Deity), Mizuhanome-no-Kami (Water Deity), and Haniyamahime-no-Kami (Earth Deity), and the composition is one of calming the raging fire god with the gods of water and earth. Incidentally, "watercress" seems to refer to algae that grows in rivers.
According to Mr. Abe of the Inagawa Cultural Property Protection Association secretariat, the fire suppression ritual (fire festival) is held in at least six villages in the former Inagawa town area, and after the Shinto ritual, things like the one in the photo are displayed throughout the village.
I like old period dramas, so I look for them on YouTube. The other day, while I was watching "Mito Komon" starring Ryunosuke Tsukigata, I discovered something. It was a scene of a ridge-raising ceremony for a newly built house after the Great Fire of Edo in the fourth year of the Genroku era, and something I had seen somewhere before was shown. A round fan with an Otafuku mask. Isn't this exactly the same as the decorations for the fire festival in the Iniwada district? When I looked into it, I found that it had the following origin.
For a carpenter, the most auspicious event after the New Year is the ridge-raising (building frame assembly). Although it varies by region, a Gohei (paper wand) is enshrined for the ridge-raising (Figure 15). A Gohei is a lucky charm decorated with paper streamers sandwiched between boards about three shaku long, and adorned with folding fans and mizuhiki cords. The name of the client, the builder, and the construction date are written on it to pray for the safety of the construction and the prosperity of the household. Generally, a mask of Okame is attached to the Gohei in Kyoto, and this origin is based on the following story.
During the Kamakura period, when the Senbon Shakado temple in the current Kamigyo Ward was being built, a master carpenter named Takatsugu Nagai Hida-no-Kami, who was well-known in and around Kyoto at the time, was in charge of the construction. During the process, he accidentally cut one of the important four main pillars donated by believers too short.
Seeing her husband spending his days in sorrow, his wife, Okame, said, "Why don't you add a bracket (a wooden structure above the pillar)?" With that one word, Takatsugu successfully completed the framework of the main hall.
However, fearing that it would become known to the world that he had fulfilled his great responsibility as a master carpenter by relying on a woman's suggestion, his wife, Okame, committed suicide. It is said that on the day of the ridge-raising, Takatsugu decorated the Gohei with his late wife's mask to pray for the repose of Okame's soul and the safe completion of the main hall.
Quoted from the Kyoto Kenro website
Regarding the fire festival event in the Iniwada district, a detailed investigation report is recorded in the "10th Anniversary Commemorative Magazine" of the Inagawa Guide Association. Regarding the Otafuku mask, it is suggested that it might be a substitute for the Mountain God or Mizuhanome-no-Kami, but there does not seem to be a clear answer. In conclusion, I think the decorations for the fire festival in the Iniwada district are imitations of the Gohei used in ridge-raising ceremonies in the Kyoto region. This Gohei contains prayers for household safety, and of course, that includes the meaning of fire prevention.
And looking at its origin, it would be more correct to call it an Okame mask rather than an Otafuku mask. In fact, a crane is drawn on the round fan, and by attaching the mask, it forms a pair of crane and turtle. Did the people of the past wish for the building to last for many generations without being hit by fire, by taking advantage of the longevity of the crane and turtle?