Kimon

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KIMON
"demon gate to the northeast," or
"northeast place where demons gather and enter."


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Konjin 金神
Kimon Konjin 鬼門金神(きもんこんじん）




こんじん‐の‐まび【金神の間日】
1年のうち、金神の方角に対して、物事をしても差し支えないという日。春は丑(うし)、夏は申(さる)、秋は未(ひつじ)、冬は酉(とり)の日とする。

"Tutelary of metal," an itinerant kami originating within the cult of Onmyōdō (Yin-Yang divination), associated with varying compass directions in space, and believed to change position in accordance with the year, lunar month, and the season. Konjin's current location in space at any given time was considered an unlucky or taboo direction, since the deity was thought to be violent and to delight in bloodshed and curses. Based on these ideas, lucky and unlucky days and directions were postulated in accordance with astrological calender terms and concepts.

Unlucky days and directions were linked to the observance of directional interdictions (kataimi) and the practice of "changing directions" (katatagae) to avoid the most strongly tabooed directions on a given day. Tabooed directions, in turn, were those in which the malicious deities Konjin, Ten'ichijin, and Taihakujin were currently located. According to the practice of katatagae, if plans for travel indicated that the final destination lay in the direction of one of the above tabooed deities, the traveler would avoid that direction by setting out a day early in a different direction; after spending the night at a temporary site, he or she would start out the next day for the final destination, thus avoiding direct travel in the line of taboo.

The practice of katatagae was frequently observed among Heian-period nobles, and as it became an integral part of their lives, it worked to strongly restrict everyday movement and activities. Beliefs in the "seven deaths of Konjin" stated that violating Konjin's tabooed direction would result in the death of up to seven close relatives; strong interdictions were thus placed on various areas of life, including the construction and renovation of houses, moving one's residence, public works construction, and leaving on journeys.

The cult of Konjin was also associated with Onmyōdō's geomantic concept of two "demon's gates" (the northeast and southwest directions on the compass), and the belief arose that Konjin was particularly formidable when it resided in one of these quarters as "Kimon Konjin" (Konjin of the Demon's Gate"). Of the two, the more dangerous and feared was the "front demon's gate" (omote kimon) located in the northeast direction called ushi-tora, although the "back demon's gate" (ura kimon) located in the southwest direction (hitsuji-saru) was also the subject of taboo.

Since the mountain Hieizan was located in the northeast direction from the new capital of Kyoto, the mountain was selected as the site for Saichō's temple Enryakuji, as a device to protect the capital from unlucky influences emanating from that quarter. Both within the capital city and at the temple, it became customary to avoid building gates, earthen storehouses, toilets and baths in the northeastern quarter of one's residence, and protruding corners were also chamfered in that quarter, a practice which was linked to the placement of "demon-faced tiles" (onigawara) on the northeastern corners of buildings as an exorcism of the "demon's gate."

Other practices associated with the demon's gate include the avoidance of marriage with a person from the northeastern direction, and the avoidance of cutting trees or moving stones in the northeastern quarter of one's residence. In response to the cult, professional sorcerers proliferated, performing exorcisms to eliminate various Konjin banes.

The Konjin cult was particularly widespread in the province of Bitchū (Okayama Prefecture), and it was based on that traditional cult that the man named Konkō Daijin (Akazawa Bunji) founded the new religion of Konkōkyō late in the Edo period. Konkō Daijin took upon himself the title "living kami Konkō Daijin" and proclaimed that Konjin was not a kami of evil and curses, but in fact the deity Tenchikane no Kami, the "world's 'parent kami' and savior of humankind." According to Konkō Daijin, one could gain the aid of the kami merely through "having faith in the kami out of a sincere mind" (jitsui teinei shinjin), and without the need to perform magical spells or abide by calendrical and directional interdictions.

In the mid-Meiji period, Deguchi Nao was influenced by Konkōkyō to preach that "Ushitora no Konjin" was the kami who would rebuild and restore the world.
source : 　Kawamura Kunimitsu　/ Kokugakuin University.


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Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto
Defending Heiankyo from demons

QUOTE
©　The Yomiuri Shimbun.

History books say Emperor Kanmu's first duty when planning the capital Heiankyo, today's Kyoto, was to seal off "kimon"--the demon's gate.

Kimon indicates a northeast direction, and ancient belief holds that demons travel from that direction.

Mt. Hiei, which is regarded as one of the three holiest mountains in Japan--along with Mt. Koya and Mt. Osorezan--is located northeast of Heiankyo. In 788, the priest Saicho built Enryakuji temple to guard against the demon's gate.

Enryakuji is in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture. The name does not refer to a specific building, but to a collection of more than 200 halls, pagodas and other religious facilities dotting three main areas--Todo, Saito and Yokawa.

Mt. Hiei, which can be seen from the precincts of Enryakuji, is also known as the place where many famous Buddhist priests practiced. These include Honen, founder of the Jodo sect; Eisai, founder of the Zen sect; Dogen, founder of the Soto sect; Shinran, founder of the Jodoshin sect; and Nichiren, founder of Nichiren sect.

Mt. Hiei, therefore, can be called the mother of mountains for Japanese Buddhism.

As Mt. Hiei is more than 800 meters tall, snow falls thick, and the ground is frozen in winter. As shuttle buses running to the mountain are not in service in winter, tourists are rarely seen at that time.

A statue of Yakushinyorai, the deity of medicine, said to have been carved by Saicho, is enshrined in Konpon Chudo, the main hall of the Todo area on the mountain. In front of the statue burns a holy fire that is said to have been kept lit for 1,200 years.

In the bitterly cold air and the silence, the small light creates a mysterious atmosphere.

The southwest direction is called "urakimon" and was feared as the second-most ill-omened direction after kimon. On the axis between kimon and urakimon, numerous temples and shrines were built to prevent the infiltration of demons into Heiankyo.

Two of the Shinto shrines--Kamigamo and Shimogamo--though far apart, are regarded by locals as a pair. Locals refer to both as Kamo Shrine, as if they are one.

They are among the oldest shrines in the Kyoto area. Because the Kamogawa river runs from the direction of kimon into the city, the two shrines along the flow prevent demons from using it to enter the city.

The origin of Kamigamo Shrine comes from the enshrinement of a deity of the Kamo clan, which ruled the region. The formal name of the shrine is Kamowakeikazuchi Shrine after the deity's name, Kamowakeikazuchi no Okami. Ikazuchi means thunder, and the deity is believed to ward off evil.

Kamigamo Shrine is older than Shimogamo Shrine. Shimogamo Shrine is formally named Kamomioya Shrine. It enshrines the parents of the deity of Kamigamo Shrine, Tamayorihime no Mikoto, the mother, and Kamotakenotsunumi no Mikoto, the father.

Aoi Matsuri, the annual festival of both Kamigamo and Shimogamo shrines, is also called Kamo no Matsuri (festival of Kamo) and is the oldest among Kyoto's three major festivals. The others are Jidai Matsuri and Gion Matsuri.

The precincts of the two shrines are deep in forests with rivers running through them, conveying to visitors a silent and magnificent atmosphere different from that on Mt. Hiei.

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KIMON

Another source for the oni's image is a concept from China and Onmyōdō. The northeast direction was once termed the kimon (鬼門, "demon gate"), and was considered an unlucky direction through which evil spirits passed. Based on the assignment of the twelve zodiac animals to the cardinal directions, the kimon was also known as the ushitora (丑寅), or "ox tiger" direction, and the oni's bovine horns and cat-like fangs, claws, and tiger-skin loincloth developed as a visual depiction of this term.

Temples are often built facing that direction, and Japanese buildings sometimes have L-shaped indentions at the northeast to ward oni away. Enryakuji, on Mount Hiei northeast of the center of Kyoto, and Kaneiji, in that direction from Edo Castle, are examples. The Japanese capital itself moved northeast from Nagaoka to Kyoto in the 8th century.

Because the kimon is where demons and other evil spirits pass through, putting an entrance to a home in this direction is regarded as extremely bad luck.

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