Kōjin, also known as
Sambō-Kōjin or
Sanbō-Kōjin, is the
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese
kamiis the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. The oldest written record of Japanese creation is in the Kojiki of 712. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity," some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a...
(
god) of
fireFire is the rapid oxidation of a combustible material releasing heat, light, and various reaction products such as carbon dioxide and water. If hot enough, the gases may become ionized to produce plasma. Depending on the substances alight, and any impurities outside, the color of the flame and the...
, the hearth, and the kitchen. He is sometimes called
Kamado-gami, literally
the god of the stove. He represents violent forces that are turned toward the good of humankind.
Mythology
The name
Sambō-Kōjin means
three-way rough deity, and he is considered a deity of uncertain temper. Fire, which he represents, is a destructive force, as shown in the myth of
Kagu-tsuchiKagu-tsuchi or Kagutsuchi , also called Kagutsuchi no kami , Hinokagutsuchi , or Ho musuhi , is the kami of fire in Japanese mythology.-Mythology:...
, the original fire deity, whose birth caused his mother's death. However, Kōjin embodies fire controlled and turned toward a good purpose. He is said to destroy all impurity. He is also responsible for watching over the household and reporting any misdeeds to the
kami of the village or city. These reports are discussed, and the according rewards or punishments assigned, by an assembly of gods in
Izumo provinceIzumo was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture in the Chūgoku Region.It was one of the regions of ancient Japan where major political powers arose...
in the tenth month of the traditional
lunar calendarA lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the moon phase. The only widely used purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar, whose year always consists of 12 lunar months...
.
Kōjin is sometimes identified as an incarnation of
Fudō Myō-ŌIn Vajrayana Buddhism, Ācala is the best known of the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm. He is also known as Ācalanātha, Āryācalanātha, Ācala-vidyā-rāja and...
, who is likewise depicted as surrounded by flames and tasked with dealing with misdeeds.
As Kamado-gami, he is sometimes depicted as female.
Worship
Traditionally, a representation of Kōjin is placed near the hearth. This representation might be a simple
fuda (
memorial tablet) in many homes, or it might be as elaborate as a statue, as is common in
BuddhistBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
temples. In his statues, Kōjin is depicted with flaming hair, fangs, and a contorted face, and he often wields a bow and arrows. He has two pairs of hands. Some representations of Kōjin present him as possessing three heads.
The
Kōjiki, also known as Furukotofumi and known in English as The Records of Ancient Matters, is the oldest surviving book in Japan. The body of the Kojiki is written in Chinese, but it includes numerous Japanese names and some phrases...
mentions an imperial script detailing instructions for worshipping Kōjin, in the form of Kamado-gami.