Takeminakata

Common card · No. 465043

Takeminakata (タケミナカタ), also known as Minakatatomi or Takeminakatatomi, is a kami in Japanese mythology. Also known as Suwa Myōjin (諏訪明神 / 諏方明神) or Suwa Daimyōjin (諏訪大明神 / 諏方大明神) after Suwa Grand Shrine (Suwa Taisha) in Nagano Prefecture in which he is enshrined alongside his consort Yasakatome, Takeminakata is historically worshiped as a god of wind, water and agriculture, as well as a patron of hunting and warfare, in which capacity he enjoyed a particularly fervent cult from various samurai clans during the medieval period such as the Hōjō or the Takeda. Takeminakata was also held to be the mythical ancestor of certain families who once served at the shrine as priests, foremost among them being the Suwa clan, the high priests of the Upper Shrine of Suwa who were also revered as living vessels of the god. There are multiple, often conflicting accounts regarding the deity. The mythology of the imperial (Yamato) court as recorded in the Kojiki (ca. 712 CE) and the Sendai Kuji Hongi portrays...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Hagino Yoshiyuki (萩野由之, 1860-1924), Public domain