Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto
Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto くもよみのみこと is one of the “ten aspects of God’s providence.” It appears fifth on a list of sacred names in Chapter Four of The Doctrine of Tenrikyo. It represents the protection of eating, drinking, and elimination in the human body as well as the rise and fall of moisture in the world at large.[1]
This aspect of God’s providence is explicitly mentioned in Ofudesaki verses 6:38 and 12:143.
Contents
Sacred name
The sacred name Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto has no known antecedent in Japanese mythology. It is assumed that the name is an original one as conceived by Miki Nakayama (Oyasama).
According to Hisanori Kontani, Kumo of the sacred name Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto signifies kui-mono (something to eat; food) and yomi means to “taste” or “judge.”[2]
Representation in the Kagura Service
In the Kagura Service, the position of Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto is reserved for a female administrative staff member of Tenrikyo Church Headquarters. A different dancer is assigned to the role each month.[3] The dancer representing Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto stands in the east wearing a female mask and has a sash connecting her wrist to the mask of the dancer representing Omotari-no-Mikoto.
Form in the muddy ocean
According to the Truth of Origin, when God the Parent searched for materials to create human beings, an eel was summoned from the east. Upon consuming her and testing the flavor of her mind, God decided to use her as the instrument for eating, drinking, and elimination.[4]
Form in the heavens
Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto is represented in the heavens as the morning star (Venus).[5]
Ura-shugo or “indirect explanation of the divine providence”
Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto is associated with Monju Bosatsu (Mañjuśrī), “Ryu-O” (Dragon King), “Shinno” (Shennong), and Yakushi Nyorai (Bhaiṣajyaguru), and “Suijin-sama.”[5]
External links
- Wikipedia: Mañjuśrī
- Wikipedia: Dragon King
- Wikipedia: Shennong
- Bhaisajyaguru Wikipedia: Bhaiṣajyaguru
- Encyclopedia of Shinto: Suijin
Notes/references
- ↑ The Doctrine of Tenrikyo, p. 31.
- ↑ Kontani, Hisanori. My Lecture on the Koki, the Divine Record, p. 75.
- ↑ Morishita, Saburo S. Teodori: Cosmological Building and Social Consolidation in a Ritual Dance, p. 123.
- ↑ The Doctrine of Tenrikyo, p. 21.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 中山正善 Nakayama Shozen. 『こふきの研究』 Koki no kenkyu, pp. 120–1.
