Pit Workers in the Old Days #15 (Guardian Deities of the Pit)
1958 - 1963

Mukashi no Yamabito #15 (Yamagami)
[Pit Workers in the Old Days #15 (Guardian Deities of the Pit)]
25.5 x 35.6 cm Ink Painting

It is said that miners (yama no hito) worshiped Oyamazumi-no-mikoto (sic; normally Oyamatsumi-no-mikoto) and Oniwanushi-no-mikoto as the guardian deities of the pit (yama). However, the people in the past regarded the deity of the pits and mountains as a goddess. It was said that she was one of the daughters of Oyamatsumi-no-mikoto Konohanasakuya-no-himegami. Since this goddess has been enshrined in Sengen Shrine in Mt. Fuji and Hakone Shrine, they might have considered her the deity of the pits and mountains. It was not until around 1919 that they began to enshrine the above mountain deities in pits in the Chikuho region. They had not been able to enshrine or worship any guardian deities in the pits until then.

Additional Notes: Every miner (yamabito or yama no hito) took a day off on the 24th day of the 12th month by the lunar calendar. It was because the mountain goddess washed her clothes in the nude on that day. The people outside the pits also did not go to the mountains this day. Miners were afraid of seeing her underground, because they believed that they would be sure to lose their eyes or be killed if they saw her.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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