Star or lunar mansion
Nannyogū
男女宮
A palace introduced as one of the twelve palaces.
This introduction is based on materials from Shōhōin (Tobi Fudō). It is summarized within the scope of the beliefs and traditions those materials convey, and does not present explanations or customs common to all schools, shrines, and temples.
English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む
The name and role of Nannyogū
A palace introduced as one of the twelve palaces. It has the alternative name Sōingū and is described as the same as present-day Gemini.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
Tracing its form and traditions
The text lists Mercury, the color orange and quicksilver as the things it symbolizes.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
Dividing the sun's path into twelve
The twelve palaces divide the ecliptic into twelve sections. They were also taken into Buddhist texts on Sukuyō, where names corresponding to the twelve zodiac signs known from Western astrology appear with different kanji. The figures depicted here are images that represent stars or divisions as deities.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院
Reading them as part of the history of Sukuyō
Shōhōin notes that the twelve palaces appear in the Sukuyō-kyō, the Shichiyō Jōsai Ketsu and other texts. They belong to a history in which astronomy and religion meet: reading the positions of the stars, making calendars, and performing prayers to remove misfortune.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院