Inori no Mori祈りの杜working title

Star or lunar mansion

Keitosei

計都星けいとせい

An illustration of Keitosei created for this site
An original illustration made for this site.

This star is listed as the seventh of the Kuyō, the Nine Luminaries. The Kuyō are a group made up of the sun, the moon, five planets, and Rago and Keito. Rago and Keito are not actual planets; they relate to the points where the apparent paths of the moon and the sun cross.

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 Keitosei

This star is listed as the seventh of the Kuyō. Its principal deity is said to be Jizō Bosatsu, and it is explained that its direction is southwest, and that in the Womb Realm Mandala it corresponds to the east.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

Tracing the form and the traditions

There are entries on matters in a year governed by this star, and on business, dwellings and the seasons. These are entries in calendar tradition and do not present good or bad fortune as fact. Its seed syllable is given as "kei".

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

The Kuyō: celestial bodies represented as deities

The Kuyō are the seven luminaries (the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) with Rago and Keito added. Rago and Keito are concepts related to the points where the apparent paths of the moon and the sun cross; they are not two planets visible to the naked eye. This page introduces images that represent celestial bodies as Buddhist deities.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院

Prayers to ward off misfortune and invite good fortune at the Hoshi Matsuri

Shōhōin explains the Hoshi Matsuri (star festival) as a Buddhist service that enshrines the Kuyō and the twenty-eight lunar mansions and prays to remove misfortune and invite good fortune. In the grouping of the Kuyō, knowledge for following the movements of the heavens overlaps with the wish to spend each day in peace.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院

Mantra (in Japanese, as written in the sources)

オンバザラケイトノウ、ノウキシャタラアランジャヤウン、ソワカ

Source: 高野山真言宗 宝泉寺(金沢・五本松)

Shown as written in the Japanese sources. This site does not set how or how many times to recite it.

Related kami and buddhas

Sources (in Japanese)