Niu Myoujin　丹生明神

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Also Niutsuhime Myoujin 丹生都比売明神. A female mountain deity that resides in Mt. Kouya 高野. According to legend *Kuukai 空海 (774-835, see *Koubou Daishi 弘法大師) received permission from Nui Myoujin through an oracle to build Kongoubuji 金剛峯寺, his monastery on Mt. Kouya, in 816. In many variants of the legend Nui Myoujin's son (or emanation) *Kariba Myoujin 狩場明神 (also known as Kouya Myoujin 高野明神) appeared as a hunter who led Kuukai to the site. Nui Myoujin and Kariba Myoujin were adopted as the guardians chinju 鎮守 of the monastery and, with two other deities added later, were worshipped at the Amano Jinja 天野神社, presently Niutsuhime Jinja 丹生都比売神社, as Kouya Shisho Gongen 高野四所権現 or Kouya Shisha Myoujin 高野四社明神. The word niu is found in the names of places associated with the mining of mercury ore (cinnabar). Scholars suggest that Niu Myojin may have been the deity of clans who did such mining. Mt. Kouya has, for the purposes of mandalas, sixteen peaks, which are represented as eight inner and eight outer petals, and these works combine the Matrix Mandala *Taizoukai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅 and Diamond World Mandala *Kongoukai mandara 金剛界曼荼羅. These last two are the diagrams of the two aspects of *Dainichi 大日 representing the realms of dynamic enlightenment and wisdom respectively. The bonji 梵字 (Siddham letters that are the sound symbol of the deity) for these two forms of Dainichi may appear on paintings of Nui Myoujin and her son when they are represented as Shinto deities *kami 神. In paintings Nui Myoujin may be shown in Japanese Court dress or in Chinese dress and may appear alone, with Kariba, or in larger groups.

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