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Hachiman (八幡神,Hachiman-shin; also readHachiman no Kami), formerly known inShinto asYahata, is thesyncretic divinity of archery and war,[1][2][3] incorporating elements from bothShinto andJapanese Buddhism.[4] He was give the title Great Bodhisattva of National Protection and Marvelous Spirit Power (護国霊験威力神通大菩薩).
The first mention of Hachiman is found in theShoku Nihongi, which writes that offerings were sent in 794 CE to shrines of Hachiman in the event of conflict with the Korean kingdom ofSilla.[5]
InShinto, Hachiman is the divine spirit of the semi-legendaryEmperor Ōjin, who is traditionally said to have reigned from 270 to 310.[6] Ōjin was deified and identified by legend as "Yahata-no-kami", meaning "Kami of Eight Banners", referring to the eight heavenly banners that signalled the birth of the divine and deified emperor, and is also calledHondawake (誉田別命). His messenger is thedove, which symbolizes both the bow and arrow found in samurai banners associated to him where he is called Yumiya Hachiman.
Since ancient times Hachiman has been worshiped by farmers as the god ofagriculture, and by fishermen, who hoped that he would fill their nets with many fish.
During the age of the samurai, descendants of both samurai clans,Seiwa Genji (清和源氏Seiwa Gen-ji, a line of theMinamoto clan descended fromEmperor Seiwa) and Kanmu Taira (桓武平氏Kanmu Taira'u-ji/ Hei-shi/ Hei-ji, a line of theTaira clan descended fromEmperor Kanmu) honored Hachiman, from which the tradition is derived nationwide in which samurai clans (武家, "buke") honor Hachiman as the deity sacred to them. His other roles include determining a samurai's fate—i.e., whether they are a success or failure in battle; controlling and protecting the martial arts; and proclaiming the victory of an army.
Although often called the god of war, he is more strictly defined as thetutelary god of warriors.[4][7] He is also the divine protector ofJapan, theJapanese people and theImperial House.
In the present form of Shinto, Hachiman is the divine spirit ofEmperor Ōjin. An account in theFusō Ryakuki of the lateHeian period notes a legend that states Hachiman appeared in the form of a three-year-old boy in the Usa region—present-day city ofUsa,Oita Prefecture—in 571 AD to a man named Ōga-no-hiki (大神比義) of the Ōga clan and announced himself as Emperor Ōjin.[8][9] Hachiman, as the spirit of Emperor Ōjin, is often worshipped in conjunction with twokami: Hachiman’shimegami and the spirit ofEmpress Jingū, Emperor Ōjin's mother in a trio known asHachiman Mikami (八幡三神).[10] There are several shrines throughout the country that enshrine the trio, though many of them replace thehimegami or Empress Jingū withEmperor Chūai,Takenouchi no Sukune, orTamayori-hime, and the trio may have the added facet of beingkami to pray to for a safe birth (such as atUmi Hachiman-gū).
According to one theory, Hachiman’shimegami is collectively thethree Munakata goddesses born whenAmaterasu andSusanoo made their vow. The three Munakata goddesses—Tagitsu-hime (多岐津姫命), Ichikishima-hime (市杵嶋姫命) and Tagairi-hime (多紀理姫命)—were said to have descended from heaven to Mount Omoto in theTsukushi Province. The three Munakata goddesses were worshipped by the mariners of the Munakata clan. It is believed the Munakata clan took up worship of the three Munakata goddesses due to Empress Jingū’s success in theInvasion of the Three Koreas. The three goddesses appeared in the region prior to Hachiman, meaning they are also believed to be thejinushigami of the area.
Other theories have Hachiman’shimegami asTamayori-hime who was either his consort, aunt, or mother. Some also believe hishimegami is the consort of Emperor Ōjin,Nakatsuhime, as Hachiman and Emperor Ōjin began to merge from theNara period to theHeian period due to writings in theTodai-ji Yōroku (東大寺要録; Todai-ji Records) andSumiyoshi Taisha Jindai-ki (住吉大社神代記; Sumiyoshi Taisha Records of the Age of the Gods) that present Hachiman as Emperor Ōjin.[11]
Less common theories include the theory that she isHimiko (who is in turn Amaterasu) or that she isShirayama-hime.
As Emperor Ōjin was already destined to become emperor before he was born, he has been called the Emperor in the Womb (胎中天皇), leading some to interpret the worship of his mother as being based on a combined mother-son worship. The Munakata clan which took part in the Invasion of the Three Koreas worshipped severalkami which were enshrined throughout the region, such as the three Munakata goddesses,Sumiyoshi Sanjin, and Amaterasu. It is said that when Empress Jingū visitedTsushima after the invasion, she placed eight flags (yahata) in dedication to thekami, an act which became the origin of the name Hirohata no Yahata no Ōkami (広幡乃八幡大神) (for her son Emperor Ōjin).
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As Hachiman is believed to beEmperor Ōjin, he is also considered the ancestralkami of theimperial family. In theJōkyū-ki (承久記; Chronicle of theJōkyū Era), it is stated, “The imperial throne of Japan is given on the good offices of the GreatKamiAmaterasu of Ise and the GreatBoddhisattva Hachiman,” placing Hachiman as a guardian deity of the imperial family second only to Amaterasu.
Emperor Ōjin has long been believed to be connected to the founding of theKonda Hachiman Shrine, and, in addition to worshipping atIse Shrine, the imperial family worships their ancestral spirits at Hachiman shrines such asUsa Shrine andIwashimizu Hachimangū.
After the arrival ofBuddhism in Japan, Hachiman became asyncretisticdeity, fusing elements of the nativekami worship with Buddhism (shinbutsu-shūgō). In the 8th century AD, he joined the Buddhistpantheon as GreatBodhisattva Hachiman (八幡大菩薩,Hachiman Daibosatsu)[12] where hisjinja (神社 - Shinto shrines)andjingu (神宮 - Shinto shrine of the Imperial family) were incorporated to shrines in Buddhist temples (寺tera).
This merging with Buddhism can be seen early in history as shown in an record from 749, while the Great Buddha ofTōdai-ji was being constructed inNara, of a story claiming that priestess and Buddhist nun (禰宜尼,negini) Ōga no Morime (大神杜女) of Usa Hachiman Shrine travelled in a procession to Nara where Hachiman spoke through her to announce he would support the construction.
In 781, the imperial court granted Hachiman of Usa the title of Great Bodhisattva Hachiman as a Buddhist protective deity believed to guard the country. This led to Hachiman being propagated as thechinjugami of Buddhist temples throughout the country. Additionally, under thehonji suijaku theory, Hachiman’shonji (本地; lit. "original ground") was believed to beAmitābha.[13] However, the Japanese Buddhist monkNichiren rejected this theory and claimed instead that Hachiman’shonji wasGautama Buddha.
Beginning in theHeian period, Hachiman began to receive worship from warriors such as theSeiwa Genji and theTaira Heishi which led to the spread of Hachiman shrines throughout the country. However, when thehonji suijaku theory became more widespread, Hachiman was depicted in the clothes of a Buddhist monk, resulting in him becoming known as Hachiman the Kami in Buddhist Attire (僧形八幡神,Sōgyō Hachiman-shin)
Because Emperor Ōjin was an ancestor of theMinamoto warrior clan, Hachiman became its tutelarykami (氏神,ujigami).[7]Minamoto no Yoshiie, upon coming of age atIwashimizu Shrine inKyoto, took the nameHachiman Taro Yoshiie, and, through his military prowess and virtue as a leader, came to be regarded and respected as the ideal samurai through the ages. AfterMinamoto no Yoritomo becameshōgun and established theKamakura shogunate, Hachiman's popularity grew and he became by extension the protector of the warrior class that the shōgun had brought to power. For this reason, theshintai of aHachiman shrine is usually astirrup or a bow.[14]
Following the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate, the worship of Hachiman spread throughout Japan among not only samurai, but also the peasantry. There are now about 2,500Shinto shrines dedicated to Hachiman, who has more shrines dedicated to him than any other deity exceptInari.Usa Shrine inUsa,Ōita Prefecture is head shrine of all these shrines; other important Hachiman shrines areIwashimizu Hachiman-gū,Hakozaki-gū andTsurugaoka Hachiman-gū.
Hachiman'smon (emblem) is amitsudomoe, a round whirlpool orvortex with three heads swirling right or left. Many samurai clans used thismon as their own, including some that traced their ancestry back to the mortal enemy of theMinamoto, theEmperor Kanmu of theTaira clan (Japanese:桓武平氏,Kanmu Heishi).
It was only later, sometime in the 9th century, that the deity became associated with Emperor Ōjin, and later still that Hachiman became worshipped as the god of archery and war, ultimately becoming the tutelary deity of the Minamoto clan and its famed warrior Minamoto Yoritomo 源頼朝 (1147–99), founder of the Kamakura shogunate
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