Ichikishimahime- Japanese GodDeity"Goddess of Hetsu-Miya"
Also known as: 市寸島比売命, 市杵島姫命, Ichikishimahime no Mikoto, Sayoribime, and 狭依毘売命
Description
Born from a shard of Susanoo's ten-span sword as Amaterasu breathed divine mist during the ukei oath, Ichikishimahime watches over the ancient sea lanes linking Kyushu to the Asian continent from her mainland shrine at Munakata.
Mythology & Lore
Born from the Sword
When Amaterasu chewed the fragments of Susanoo's ten-span sword and breathed out divine mist, three goddesses appeared: Takiribime, Tagitsuhime, and Ichikishimahime. The Kojiki gives her the alternate name Sayoribime. Together the three sisters became the Munakata goddesses, charged with guarding the sea route between Kyūshū and the Asian continent.
The Mainland Shore
Each goddess was assigned to a shrine along the maritime route. Takiribime's seat on Okinoshima, far out in the Genkai Sea, was long restricted to male priests by strict taboo. Tagitsuhime's shrine stood on the intermediate island of Ōshima. Ichikishimahime received Hetsu-miya, the mainland sanctuary at Munakata in Fukuoka Prefecture, the shrine ordinary worshippers could actually reach.
Through the honji suijaku system, Ichikishimahime became identified with Benzaiten, the Buddhist goddess of water and eloquence. Both were island goddesses tied to water. The identification carried Ichikishimahime's worship far beyond Munakata: Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima and the shrine at Enoshima, two of the most visited sites in Japan, venerate Benzaiten as a form of the Munakata goddess. The sea deity born from a sword fragment found her way to shrines she never left.
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