Mountain Gods () are Asian

tutelary deities A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...

associated with mountains. They are related to

landlord deities Landlord deities () are a type of tutelary deity worshipped in the East Asian cultural sphere. They are low level deities that are considered below Sheshen and City God (China), City Gods. When people move into a new location they will ask the ...

and

tudigong A Tudigong ( zh, s=土地公, l=Lord of the Land) is a kind of Chinese tutelary deity of a specific location. There are several Tudigongs corresponding to different geographical locations and sometimes multiple ones will be venerated together in ...

s and City Gods. They are well-known in Korea and some prominent Chinese mountains have shrines to similar deities in the

Daoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

traditions, called ''Shanshen''. The Japanese equivalent is the ''

Yama-no-Kami Mountain Gods () are Asian tutelary deities associated with mountains. They are related to Landlord deity, landlord deities and tudigongs and City God (China), City Gods. They are well-known in Korea and some prominent Chinese mountains have shri ...

'' (; also pronounced as ''yamagami'') and the Vietnamese equivalent is ).

Houtu Hòutǔ () or Hòutǔshén (), also known as Hòutǔ Niángniáng (in Chinese either or ), otherwise called Dimǔ () or Dimǔ Niángniáng (), is the deity of all land and earth in Chinese religion and mythology. Houtu is the overlord of all t ...

is the overlord of all the

Tudigong A Tudigong ( zh, s=土地公, l=Lord of the Land) is a kind of Chinese tutelary deity of a specific location. There are several Tudigongs corresponding to different geographical locations and sometimes multiple ones will be venerated together in ...

s ("Lord of Local Land"),

Sheji __NOTOC__ Soil and grain was a common Chinese political term in the Sinosphere for the state. Shejitan, the altars of soil and grain, were constructed alongside ancestral altars. Chinese monarchs of the Ming and Qing dynasties performed ceremon ...

("the State"), Shan Shen ("God of Mountains"), City Gods ("God of Local City"), and

landlord gods Landlord deities () are a type of tutelary deity worshipped in the East Asian cultural sphere. They are low level deities that are considered below Sheshen and City Gods. When people move into a new location they will ask the landlord deity f ...

worldwide.

China

In China, legends about ''Shanshen'' () have a long history. The

Classic of Mountains and Seas The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shanhai jing'' (), formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed si ...

(), which was written more than 2,000 years ago, has already recorded various legends about ''Shanshen''; specifically the Wuzang Shanjing () part contains a detailed description of the appearance of the mountain gods. The

Taiping Guangji The ''Taiping Guangji'' (), sometimes translated as the ''Extensive Records of the Taiping Era'' or ''Extensive Records of the Taiping Xinguo Period'', is a collection of stories compiled in the early Song dynasty. The work was completed in 978, ...

() 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'''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 Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

classic

Book of Rites The ''Book of Rites'', also known as the ''Liji'', is a collection of texts describing the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty as they were understood in the Warring States and the early Han periods. The '' ...

, "the mountains, forests, valleys and hills, which can produce clouds, provide wind and rain, and see monsters, are all called gods." 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'' zh">:zh:五嶽大帝">zh(, lit. Great Kings of the Five Sacred Mountains): *

Chidi Chidi may refer to: *Chidi (god), an ancient Chinese deity People Given name *Chidi Ahanotu, American football player *Chidi Edeh, Nigerian footballer *Chidi Imoh, Nigerian sprinter *Chidi Iwuoma, American football player *Chidi Ngwaba, British m ...

of Mount Heng (South Mountain) *

Dongyue Emperor Emperor Dongyue (or ) is a Daoist deity of the sacred mountain Mount Tai. He is also believed to be the leader of a large bureaucratic celestial ministry overseeing the maintenance of the Book of Life (), a register of the due dates on which eac ...

Mount Tai Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...

(East Mountain) *

Heidi ''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published between 1880 and 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' () and ''Heidi: How She Used What She Learned'' ( ...

of Mount Heng (North Mountain) * Huangdi of

Mount Song Mount Song (, "lofty mountain") is an isolated mountain range in north central China's Henan Province, along the southern bank of the Yellow River. It is known in literary and folk tradition as the central mountain of the Five Great Mountains of ...

(Center Mountain) *

Xiyue Dadi Emperor Xiyue (or Xiyue Dadi ) is a Taoist deity of the sacred mountain Mount Hua and one of the Great Emperors of the Five Sacred Mountains. It is said that the worship of Xiyue Dadi can be traced back to the Shang dynasty when he was revered a ...

Mount Hua Mount Hua () is a mountain located near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi Province, about east of Xi'an. It is the "Western Mountain" of the Five Great Mountains of China and has a long history of religious significance. Originally classified as ...

(West Mountain)

Other mountain deities

Lishan Laomu Lishan Laomu () is the goddess of Mount Li in Chinese religion. She is a popular female immortal in the Taoist pantheon, and a high-ranking one according to some late sources. Legend has it that Lishan Laomu, whose surname and origin remain myst ...

, the goddess of

Mount Li Mount Li () is a mountain located in the northeast of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, China. The mountain is part of the Qinling mountain range and rises to a height of 1302 metres (4271 ft) above sea level. It is one of the eight scenic spots of th ...

Yaoji Yaoji (), is a Chinese gods and immortals, Chinese goddess of Wu Gorge, Wu Mountain. A shaman and master herbalist, Yaoji is responsible for the presence of many medicinal herbs on Earth. She is a protective weather goddess who raises and soothes ...

, the goddess of

Wu Mountains Wuxia Gorge (), sometimes called Great Gorge (), is the second gorge of the Three Gorges system on the Yangtze River, People's Republic of China. Formed by the Wu River, it stretches from Wushan to Guandukou, and is located downstream of ...

Korea

''Sanshin'' or ''Sansin'' () are local mountain-spirits in

Korean Shamanism Korean shamanism, also known as () is a religion from Korea. Religious studies, Scholars of religion classify it as a folk religion and sometimes regard it as one facet of a broader Korean vernacular religion distinct from Buddhism, Taoism, Dao ...

and folk-beliefs. In South Korea, most

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

s and major Shamanic-shrines, and some traditionalist villages, have a dedicated shrine called a ''sanshin-gak'' () or an altar called a ''sanshin-dan'' dedicated to the local ''sanshin''. This nature-deity is typically represented in the enshrined icons (paintings and/or statues) as an elder male (in rare cases, mature female) figure in royal-Confucian clothing, always accompanied by at least one

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

and a Korean Red Pine tree. 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.Prof. David A. Mason maintains a gigantic website about Korean Sanshin Mountain-spirits, at http://san-shin.org/ 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. There are particular shamanic-folklore individual Sanshins, such as Eunje-san Seongmo (), who is the wife of ''Namhae Yong-wang'' or Dragon King of the South Sea, ''Jiri-san Seongmo Cheonwang'' () or Exquisite-Wisdom Mountain Holy-Mother Heaven-king, and ''Mireuk Sanshin Halmi'' () or Future-Buddha Mountain-spirit Grandma, to name just a few. Such deities are officially sanctioned symbols of Korean reunification, and are possibly moving towards being used as symbols of environmental preservation

Japan

Yama-no-Kami () is the name given to a kami of the mountains of the Shinto religion of Japan. These can be of two different types. The first type is a god of the mountains who is worshipped by hunters, woodcutters, and charcoal burners. The second is a god of agriculture who comes down from the mountains and is worshipped by farmers. This kami is generally considered as a goddess, or a female deity. A Kannabi is often associated with Mountain Gods. It is a natural area including a mountain which acts as a Shintai for a Kami.

List of Japanese mountain gods

Yama-no-Kami appearing in Japanese mythology include: *Hara-Yamatsumi () *Ha-Yamatsumi () *Konohanasakuya-hime (), the wife of Ninigi-no-Mikoto and great-grandmother of Emperor Jimmu. *Kukurihime, Shirayama-hime (), the goddess of Mount Hakusan.''Shirayama Hime Shrine history compilation committee edition'' "Hakusan Faith illustration" (Shirayama Hime Shrine, 2003)''Emperor Keishinkai Digital Collection'', National Diet Library "Kokuzai Chusha Hakusanjo Shrine" "National Famous Shrine Photographs," Imperial Keishinkai, December 1922 .''Morokami Divine Festival Deity Dictionary'' pp. 446-447 "Shirayama Hime Shrine"''Shinto Encyclopedia Volume One'' piece 264 (original 455 pages) [ Kukurihimenomomikoto　Kikurihime] *Kura-Yamatsumi () *Ōyamatsumi (), the father of Konohanasakuya-hime. *Masaka-Yamatsumi () *Odo-Yamatsumi () *Oku-Yamatsumi () *Omonoimi no Kami () of Mount Chōkai. *Ōmononushi of Mount Miwa. *Oyamakui no Kami (), the god of Mount Hiei. *Shigi-Yamatsumi () *To-Yamatsumi ()

Vietnam

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountain God Japanese deities Japanese folk religion Nature deities Shinto kami Mountain gods Korean mythology Mountain faith Tutelary deities Vietnamese deities