Mikomori Myoujin　御子守明神

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Also called Komori Myoujin 子守明神 and may appear in the triad known as Mikomori Sannyoshin 御子守三女神 (see below). The deity of Yoshino Mikumari Jinja 吉野水分神社 which is situated on a ridge above the village of *Yoshino 吉野 in southern Nara and which is one of four major watershed shrines in old Yamato 大和. Yoshino Mikumari appears in a record of 702 and was known as a site at which to pray for control of rain and water. Apparently through a misapprehension of the sound, Mikumari became known as Mikomori, a protector of children. Mikomori is one of the eight gongen 権現 of Yoshino, gongen being the forms taken by supernatural beings in order to manifest themselves on earth. There are twenty sculptures of the deity *kami 神, in Yoshino Mikumari Jinja. The most famous of these is that of Tamayorihime 玉依姫, dating from 1251. She appears in KOJIKI 古事記 (712) as the mother of Emperor Jinmu 神武. In this case she appears accompanied by two other deities and the three together are known as the Mikomori Sannyoshin. It is important to note that Tamayorihime is not identical with Mikomori Myoujin, since the latter is the collective deity of the whole shrine and includes a number of other deities. In paintings Mikomori may appear alone or in a triad. She is shown as a court lady, and she may be with children. She may be shown holding a vajra *Kongou rikishi 金剛力士. She and/or her shrine often appear in *Yoshino mandara 吉野曼荼羅. Mikomori Myoujin's Buddhist counterpart *honjibutsu 本地仏 may be identified as *Jizou 地蔵, and the bonji 梵字 (Siddham letter for the sound value of the deity) for *Dainichi 大日 of the Matrix Mandala *Taizoukai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅 may appear on paintings of her.

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