{{Short description|Asian local mountain gods}} {{Infobox Chinese | hangul = 산신 | hanja = 山神 | rr = Sansin | mr = Sansin | image = Brooklyn Museum - Mountain Spirit (Sanshin).jpg | caption = A Korean representation of a ''sanshin'' | c = 山神 | p = shānshén | kanji = 山の神 | kana = やまのかみ | romaji = Yama no Kami | qn = sơn thần <br> thần núi | chunom = 神𡶀 | chuhan = 山神 }} '''Mountain Gods''' ({{zh|c=山神}}) are Asian tutelary deities associated with mountains.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-02-28 |title=THE MOUNTAIN GOD AND THE MONASTERY – THE PECULIAR CASE OF THE SHANSHEN SHRINE |url=https://taiwaninsight.org/2020/02/28/the-mountain-god-and-the-monastery-the-peculiar-case-of-the-shanshen-shrine/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Taiwan Insight |language=en}}</ref> They are related to ''dizhu shen'', tudigongs and City Gods.
They are well-known in Korea and some prominent Chinese mountains have shrines to similar deities in the Daoist traditions, called ''Shanshen''. The Japanese equivalent is the ''Yama-no-Kami'' ({{lang|ja|山の神}}; also pronounced as ''yamagami'') and the Vietnamese equivalent is {{lang|vi|Sơn thần (山神}}).
Houtu is the overlord of all the Tudigongs ("Lord of Local Land"), Sheji ("the State"), '''Shan Shen''' ("God of Mountains"), City Gods ("God of Local City"), and ''dizhu shen'' worldwide.
==China== In China, legends about ''Shanshen'' ({{lang|zh|山神}}) have a long history. The Classic of Mountains and Seas ({{lang|zh|山海经}}), which was written more than 2,000 years ago, has already recorded various legends about ''Shanshen''; specifically the Wuzang Shanjing ({{lang|zh|五藏山经}}) part contains a detailed description of the appearance of the mountain gods. The Taiping Guangji ({{lang|zh|太平广记}}) also contains the story of Dayu, who imprisoned the Shangzhang clan and the Dulu clan, among other ''Shanshen''.
Ancient Chinese people worshipped mountains by deifying them. From the ''Shanshen''<nowiki/>'s title to see the mountain god worship is extremely complex, all kinds of ghosts and spirits are attached to the mountain. Eventually, the names and differences of the various ghosts and spirits disappeared, or they merged with each other. It evolved into a situation where the main peaks of each region were inhabited by personalised ''Shanshens''. According to the Law of Sacrifices in the Confucian classic Book of Rites, "the mountains, forests, valleys and hills, which can produce clouds, provide wind and rain, and see monsters, are all called gods."<ref>{{lang|zh|《礼记·祭法》：“山林川谷丘陵，能出云，为风雨，见怪物，皆曰神。}}</ref> When Emperor Yu and Shun had the sacrificial system of "looking at the mountains and rivers, all over the gods", legend has it that Shun had a tour of Mount Tai, Mount Heng, Mount Hua and Mount Heng. Successive generations of the Son of Heaven Zen carry out sacrifices to heaven and earth, and also to the gods of the mountains. Most of the mountain sacrifices were made with jade and jade buried in the ground, and there were also the sacrificial methods of "casting" and "hanging", whereby offerings of chickens, goats, pigs or jade were thrown into the valleys or hung in the treetops.
The deities of the Five Sacred Mountains of China are collectively known as ''Wuyue Dadi'' [<nowiki/>zh] ({{lang|zh|五嶽大帝}}, lit. Great Kings of the Five Sacred Mountains):
* Chidi of Mount Heng (South Mountain) * Dongyue Emperor of Mount Tai (East Mountain) * Heidi of Mount Heng (North Mountain) * Huangdi of Mount Song (Center Mountain) * Xiyue Dadi of Mount Hua (West Mountain) ===Other mountain deities=== *Lishan Laomu, the goddess of Mount Li *Yaoji, the goddess of Wu Mountains
==Korea== {{redirect|Sansin|the Japanese musical instrument|Sanshin}} [[File:Korea-Busan-Beomeosa Sallyeonggak 6282-07.JPG|thumb|The ''sanshingak'' of Beomeosa, Busan]] '''''Sansin''''' or '''''Sanshin''''' ({{korean|hanja=山神|hangul=산신}}) are local mountain spirits in Korean shamanism and folk beliefs. Most Buddhist temples and major shamanic shrines in Korea have a dedicated shrine called a ''sansingak'' ({{korean|hangul=산신각|hanja=山神閣|labels=no}})<ref>{{Cite web |last=Park |first=Sang-guk |date=1995 |title=산신각 |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0026265 |website=Encyclopedia of Korean Culture}}</ref> or an altar called a ''sansindan'' dedicated to the local ''Sansin''. The deity is also often enshrined in ''samseonggak'' with Chilseong (Big Dipper) and Dokseong.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Park |first=Sang-guk |date=1995 |title=삼성각 |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0026651 |website=Encyclopedia of Korean Culture|language=ko|trans-title=Samseonggak}}</ref>
''Sansin'' was orginally depicted as a woman but was gradually depicted as an elder male due to Confucianism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Oh |first=Chool-se |date=2002 |title=불교와 민속신앙 |trans-title=Buddhism and Folk Religion |journal=Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies |volume=5 |pages=47-52|language=ko|url=https://journal.kabs.re.kr/articles/article/BMmR/}}</ref> In Buddhist paintings, it is depicted as a white-bearded old man with a tiger against the background of a pine tree forest.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Kim |first=Sooyoun |date=2020 |title=조선후기 삼성각의 형성과정과 봉안불화 |url=http://www.riss.kr/link?id=T15518541 |degree=Master |publisher=Wonkwang University |trans-title=A study on the formation process of late Joseon period Samseonggak shrine and in the buddhist paintings |pages= 54-57 |language=ko}}</ref> There are many other symbols being held by the Sanshin, offered to him by servants or in the backgrounds of the more elaborate paintings, derived from Oriental Daoism, Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism, shamanic-folklore and Korean "spiritual-ethnic nationalism"—making these multi-religious icons unique in the entire world.<ref name="Mason Website">{{Cite web |title=David A. Mason's San-shin Website |url=http://san-shin.org/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213183707/http://san-shin.org/ |archive-date=2023-02-13}}</ref><ref name="Mason Book">{{Cite book |title=Spirit of the Mountains: Korea's San-Shin and Traditions of Mountain-worship |year=1999 |isbn=1565911075|last=Mason|first=David|publisher=Hollym|author-link=David A. Mason}}</ref>
The ''Sanshin'' faith is interpreted in the folk scene as a belief devoted to the mountain gods. The mountain's beauty, its mystery, and the perceived shape that soars toward the sky are combined to inspire mountain worship on an emotional level. The upper mountain slopes, cliffs and peaks are seen as is the realm of the spirits and the places to communicate with them and attain visions or enlightenment. The faith that the mountain is believed-in as a mystical body that provides abundance and protection is very ancient in all Korea, and continues today in public or private Sanshin-je (mountain-spirit ceremonies) Seonang-gut (tutelary-deity rituals). When the mountain is located between Heaven and the earth where human beings live, and serves as a link between those two worlds, it is believed to be a representation of the universal world mountain, thought by traditional religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Geomancy to rise at the center of the world.<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:산신신앙(山神信仰) |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0026270 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230423212219/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0026270 |archive-date=23 Apr 2023 |access-date=23 May 2020 |website=Encyclopedia of Korean Culture |language=ko}}</ref>
There are particular shamanic-folklore individual Sanshins, such as Eunje-san Seongmo ({{lang|ko|운제산성모; 雲梯山聖母}}), who is the wife of ''Namhae Yong-wang'' or Dragon King of the South Sea, ''Jiri-san Seongmo Cheonwang'' ({{lang|ko|지리산성모천왕}}) or Exquisite-Wisdom Mountain Holy-Mother Heaven-king, and ''Mireuk Sanshin Halmi'' ({{lang|ko|미륵산신할미}}) or Future-Buddha Mountain-spirit Grandma, to name just a few.<ref name="Mason Website" /><ref name="Mason Book" />
Such deities are officially sanctioned symbols of Korean reunification, and are possibly moving towards being used as symbols of environmental preservation<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intro to Korean San-shin, Sansin or Mountain-spirits |url=http://san-shin.org/index3.html |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=san-shin.org}}</ref>
=={{Anchor|Japan}}Japan== {{redirect|Yamagami|other uses|Yamagami (disambiguation)}}{{Expand Japanese|topic=cult|山の神|section=yes|date=April 2023}} [[File:Niigata Yama-no-Kami.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Shrine in Niigata, Niigata.]] '''Yama-no-Kami''' ({{lang|ja|山の神}}) is the name given to a kami of the mountains of the Shinto religion of Japan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Yama-no-kami {{!}} Japanese religion {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yama-no-kami |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> These can be of two different types.<ref name=":0" /> The first type is a god of the mountains who is worshipped by hunters, woodcutters, and charcoal burners.<ref name=":0" /> The second is a god of agriculture who comes down from the mountains and is worshipped by farmers.<ref name=":0" /> This kami is generally considered as a goddess, or a female deity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=D |first=John |date=2014-08-20 |title=Mountain kami |url=https://www.greenshinto.com/2014/08/20/mountain-kami-yama-no-kami/ |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=Green Shinto |language=en-GB}}</ref>
A Kannabi is often associated with Mountain Gods. It is a natural area including a mountain which acts as a Shintai for a Kami.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.today/20230407173533/https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=9690 | title=Kannabi | |script-title=ja:國學院大學デジタルミュージアム }}</ref>
=== List of Japanese mountain gods === Yama-no-Kami appearing in Japanese mythology include:
*Hara-Yamatsumi ({{lang|ja|原山津見神}}) *Ha-Yamatsumi ({{lang|ja|羽山津見神}}) *Konohanasakuya-hime ({{lang|ja|木花之開耶姫}}), the wife of Ninigi-no-Mikoto and great-grandmother of Emperor Jimmu.<ref name=":0" /> *Shirayama-hime ({{lang|ja|白山比咩神}}), the goddess of Mount Hakusan.<ref name="shs">''Shirayama Hime Shrine history compilation committee edition'' "Hakusan Faith illustration" (Shirayama Hime Shrine, 2003)</ref><ref name="ekdc">''Emperor Keishinkai Digital Collection'', National Diet Library "Kokuzai Chusha Hakusanjo Shrine" "National Famous Shrine Photographs," Imperial Keishinkai, December 1922 .</ref><ref name="mdfdd">''Morokami Divine Festival Deity Dictionary'' pp. 446-447 "Shirayama Hime Shrine"</ref><ref># ''Yama no reiryoku'' (''Mountain spirit power'') pp. 177-178 "Hakusan that Jomon people also danced to"</ref><ref name="sev12">''Shinto Encyclopedia Volume One'' piece 264 (original 455 pages) [ Kukurihimenomomikoto Kikurihime]</ref> *Kura-Yamatsumi ({{lang|ja|闇山津見神}}) *Ōyamatsumi ({{lang|ja|大山津見神}}), the father of Konohanasakuya-hime.<ref name=":0" /> *Masaka-Yamatsumi ({{lang|ja|正鹿山津見神}}) *Odo-Yamatsumi ({{lang|ja|淤縢山津見神}}) *Oku-Yamatsumi ({{lang|ja|奥山津見神}}) *Omonoimi no Kami ({{lang|ja|大物忌神}}) of Mount Chōkai.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yamabushi |first=Kiwi |date=2022-12-15 |title=The Creepy Legend of Japan's Chokai-san (Mt. Chokai) |url=https://medium.com/japonica-publication/the-creepy-legend-of-japans-chokai-san-mt-chokai-43f359d0ade1 |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Japonica Publication |language=en}}</ref> *Ōmononushi of Mount Miwa.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1IJrNAKBpycC&pg=PA299 |title=Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |date=1896 |publisher=Society |isbn=978-0-524-05347-8 |language=en}}</ref> *Oyamakui no Kami ({{lang|ja|大山咋神}}), the god of Mount Hiei.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-05-27 |title=Sanpai Japan - Hiejinja(Shrine) |url=http://sanpai-japan.com/2016/05/27/hieshrine/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Sanpai Japan |language=en-US}}</ref> *Shigi-Yamatsumi ({{lang|ja|志藝山津見神}}) *To-Yamatsumi ({{lang|ja|戸山津見神}})
==Vietnam== [[File:Miếu Bà Chúa Xứ (12816644963).jpg|thumb|Bà Chúa Xứ Temple in Sam Mountain, Châu Đốc, An Giang]]
Some of the most popularly worshiped mountain deities in Vietnam * Bà Chúa Xứ, the goddess of Sam Mountain * Bà Đen, the goddess of Black Virgin Mountain * Bà Rá, the goddess of Bà Rá Mountain * Mẫu Thượng Ngàn * Tản Viên Sơn Thánh, Thần Cao Sơn and Thần Quý Minh, the gods of Ba Vì mountain range
==See also== * Xian (Taoism) * Hou Tu * Lords of the Three Mountains * Shigandang * Tudigong * Mountain worship
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Jmyth navbox long}} {{Korean mythology}} {{Religious Confucianism}} {{Shinto shrines}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountain God}} Category:Japanese deities Category:Japanese folk religion Category:Nature deities Category:Shinto kami Category:Mountain gods Category:Korean mythology Category:Mountain faith Category:Tutelary deities Category:Vietnamese deities