Deity of shinbutsu shūgō (kami–buddha syncretism)
Kehi Daimyōjin
気比大明神
Kehi Jingū describes its chief enshrined kami, Izasawake no Mikoto, as a kami connected with food, and introduces virtues such as clothing, food and shelter, agriculture and fishing, and safety at sea. It enshrines seven kami in all, including Emperor Chūai. "Kehi Daimyōjin" of the Sanjū Banjin and "Kehi Myōjin" of the four myōjin of Kōyasan need to be read each in the context of its own worship.
This introduction is based on materials published by shrines, temples, and schools, starting with Shōhōin. 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 Kehi faith of Tsuruga: protection of food and the sea
Kehi Jingū describes its chief enshrined kami, Izasawake no Mikoto, as a kami connected with food, and introduces virtues such as clothing, food and shelter, agriculture and fishing, and safety at sea. It enshrines seven kami in all, including Emperor Chūai. "Kehi Daimyōjin" of the Sanjū Banjin and "Kehi Myōjin" of the four myōjin of Kōyasan need to be read each in the context of its own worship.
Source: 氣比神宮・日蓮宗 光瑞山本立寺・丹生都比売神社
A tradition of a kami and a prince exchanging names
The 御名易祭 festival of Kehi Jingū relates to a story that when the crown prince who would become Emperor Ōjin came to worship, Kehi no Ōkami appeared in a dream and told him that they would exchange names. It is a festival that expresses the bond between the kami and the prince handed down at the shrine.
Source: 氣比神宮
The Sanjū Banjin, who take turns guarding one day each
The Sanjū Banjin is a belief from the fusion of kami and buddhas in which thirty kami divide the days among themselves to protect the country and the Buddhist teaching. In Shōhōin's list, each kami is assigned one day, from the 1st to the 30th. It is a grouping handed down in the Tendai and Nichiren traditions and others, and it needs to be distinguished from present-day explanations of the enshrined kami at shrines of the same name and from historical theories of their original buddhas (honji butsu).
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院
Kami who come to hear the sutra recited: the origin story told by Shinjō-ji
Shinjō-ji, a temple of the Nichiren Shū, relates a tradition that, while Nichiren Shōnin was reading the Lotus Sutra on Mount Hiei, a different person visited him each day and revealed that they were the Sanjū Banjin. This is the temple's origin story of "the Sanjū Banjin who protect the Lotus Sutra". It is not treated as a historical event common to all faith in the Sanjū Banjin.
Source: 日蓮宗 玉蓮山真成寺
Guardians taking turns to support daily faith
Shinjō-ji introduces the Sanjū Banjin as guardian deities, from the fusion of kami and buddhas, who divide their duty by day. What the temple holds dear is the belief that they protect the Lotus Sutra and the people who believe in its teaching. This is an explanation for understanding their role as the Sanjū Banjin, in addition to the virtues handed down at each shrine.
Source: 日蓮宗 玉蓮山真成寺
Related shrines and temples
Related kami and buddhas
Sources (in Japanese)
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：気比大明神」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：目次」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 氣比神宮「氣比神宮について」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 日蓮宗 光瑞山本立寺「三十番神堂」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 丹生都比売神社「ご祭神」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：三十番神」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 日蓮宗 玉蓮山真成寺「三十番神様」（2026-10-15 確認）