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User:Immanuelle/sandbox/Sumiyoshi Faith

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The sumiyoshi faith is a related faith to the watatsumi faith. It is associated with the Tsumori clan [1]


In the Sumiyoshi taisha jindaiki, Jingū's connection to the sea deity Sumiyoshi is emphasized. After Emperor Chūai's death, Jingū has "secret doings" with Sumiyoshi, symbolizing a clandestine affair. Sumiyoshi plays a prominent role in guiding her conquest, ensuring her safe passage across the sea and providing divine assistance. This narrative suggests that Sumiyoshi, rather than Emperor Chūai, might be the father of Emperor Ōjin, thus integrating Sumiyoshi into the imperial lineage. The text highlights Jingū's negotiations with the gods, culminating in her enshrinement alongside Sumiyoshi, which underscores the deity's importance in maritime traditions and the imperial polity.[1]

The Sumiyoshi deities are a triad just like the Munakata goddesses and Watatsumi. However unlike Watatsumi, they are more related to safe navigation than to fishing or the depths.[1] This makes them a distinctly more human deity, and may be responsible for the lack of attempts to reinterpret Sumiyoshi as was done with Watatsumi with Azumi-no-Isora and Utsushihikihanasaku.[1]

The first known Sumiyoshi Shrine is Sumiyoshi-jinja in Fukuoka. [1]

The Tsumori clan who rules Sumiyoshi-taisha claims ancestry from Amenohoakari, making them relatives of the Owari and Amabe clans

Empress Jingu asked them to make a shrine for the Sumiyoshi gods in Osaka, and so the Sumiyoshi-taisha was born

References

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  1. a b c d e "The Sea and the Sacred in Japan". Reading Religion. Retrieved 2024-05-30.