Deity of shinbutsu shūgō (kami–buddha syncretism)
Kashima Daimyōjin
鹿島大明神
The enshrined kami of Kashima Jingū is Takemikazuchi no Ōkami. The shrine's explanation shows a connection with the myth of the transfer of the land (kuni-yuzuri), in which the deer kami Ame no Kaku no Kami worked to convey the command of Amaterasu Ōmikami. Faith in the kami of Kashima overlaps with the power to carry out the divine will and the work of opening the way.
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 transfer of the land and Takemikazuchi no Ōkami
The enshrined kami of Kashima Jingū is Takemikazuchi no Ōkami. The shrine's explanation shows a connection with the myth of the transfer of the land (kuni-yuzuri), in which the deer kami Ame no Kaku no Kami worked to convey the command of Amaterasu Ōmikami. Faith in the kami of Kashima overlaps with the power to carry out the divine will and the work of opening the way.
Source: 鹿島神宮
From Kashima to Kasuga, a kami riding a deer
Kashima Jingū tells that when Kasuga Taisha in Nara was founded, a divided spirit (gobunrei) of the kami of Kashima was carried there on the back of a deer. The deer is a messenger showing this mythical connection. Reading the kami and the messenger animal as distinct also makes clear the meaning of the deer statues placed there.
Source: 鹿島神宮・春日大社
Guarding one day at a time in turn: the faith of the Thirty Guardian Kami
The Thirty Guardian Kami (Sanjū Banjin) are a faith, combining 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 a day from the first to the thirtieth. It is a grouping handed down in the Tendai and Nichiren lineages 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 views about the original buddhas (honjibutsu).
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院
Kami who come to hear the sutras — the origin story told by Shinjō-ji
Shinjō-ji, a temple of the Nichiren school, introduces a tradition that while Nichiren Shōnin was reading the Lotus Sutra on Mount Hiei, a different person visited him each day and revealed himself to be one of the Thirty Guardian Kami. This is the origin story of "the Thirty Guardian Kami who protect the Lotus Sutra" as taught by that temple. This site does not treat it as a historical event shared by all faith in the Thirty Guardian Kami.
Source: 日蓮宗 玉蓮山真成寺
Protection in turns that supports daily faith
Shinjō-ji introduces the Thirty Guardian Kami as guardian deities, combining kami and buddhas, who divide their duty by the day. What the temple values is the faith that they protect the Lotus Sutra and the people who believe in its teaching. This explanation is for learning their role as the Thirty Guardian Kami, in addition to the divine virtues handed down at each shrine.
Source: 日蓮宗 玉蓮山真成寺
Related kami and buddhas
Sources (in Japanese)
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：鹿島大明神」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：目次」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 鹿島神宮「境内案内」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 春日大社「御蓋山浮雲峰遙拝所」（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）