Omotari-no-Mikoto
Omotari-no-Mikoto をもたりのみこと is one of the “ten aspects of God’s providence.” It appears second on a list of sacred names in Chapter Four of The Doctrine of Tenrikyo. It represents the protection of warmth in the human body as well as fire in the world at large.[1]
Omotari-no-Mikoto, together with Kunitokotachi-no-Mikoto is regarded as representing the primary female and male aspects of God the Parent.[2] They are both explicitly mentioned in Ofudesaki verse 16:12:
Listen! This origin is the venerable Kunitokotachi and Omotari.
Contents
Sacred name
The sacred name Omotari-no-Mikoto has an antecedent in the Nihon Shoki known as Omotaru-no-Mikoto written with the kanji 面足尊.[3] (It may be noted that Omotari-no-Mikoto is usually written as をもたりのみこと in Tenrikyo literature.)
One explanation of in the Tenrikyo tradition asserts that Omotari-no-Mikoto was named so because this Kami became pregnant (mi omoku taru) after the seeds of human beings were conceived.[4] [5]
Representation in the Kagura Service
In the Kagura Service, the position of Omotari-no-Mikoto is reserved for the wife of the Shinbashira.[6] The wife of the Shinbashira stands in the south wearing a female lion mask with a closed mouth and black hair. Three sashes from the mask are tied to the wrists of the dancers representing Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto, Kashikone-no-Mikoto, and Otonobe-no-Mikoto.
Form in the muddy ocean
According to a narrative of the Divine Record written by Isaburo Masui, in the muddy ocean Omotari-no-Mikoto came in the form of a 12-headed serpent (taija) with three tails with a sword on each tail. The 12 heads symbolize how the protection or providence of Omotari-no-Mikoto is bestowed over 12 months of the year, 12 Chinese hours (double-hours) of each day, and the 12 branches.[5]
Form in the heavens
Omotari-no-Mikoto is represented in the heavens as the Sun.[5]
Ura-shugo or “indirect explanation of the divine providence”
Omotari-no-Mikoto is associated with the Amida Sanzonbutsu or trinity of Amida (Amitābha), Seishi (Mahāsthāmaprāpta), and Kannon (Avalokiteśvara).[5]
External links
- Encyclopedia of Shinto: Omodaru, Ayakashikone
- Wikipedia: Amitābha
- Wikipedia: Mahāsthāmaprāpta
- A to Z Photo Dictionary Japanese Buddhist Statuary: Seishi Bosatsu
- Wikipedia: Avalokiteśvara
Notes/references
- ↑ The Doctrine of Tenrikyo, p. 31.
- ↑ 『改訂 天理教事典』Kaitei Tenrikyo jiten, p. 294.
- ↑ 天理教青年会資料調査班 Tenrikyo Seinenkai Shiryochosa-han. 「教祖伝史料の検討『中山みきノート批判』」“Oyasama-den shiryo no kento: Nakayama Miki kenkyu noto hihan.” 『あらきとうりよう』 Arakitoryo 149 (Fall 1987), p. 233.
- ↑ 天理教青年会資料調査班 Tenrikyo Seinenkai Shiryochosa-han. 「教祖伝史料の検討『中山みきノート批判』」“Oyasama-den shiryo no kento: Nakayama Miki kenkyu noto hihan.” 『あらきとうりよう』 Arakitoryo 149 (Fall 1987), p. 238.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 中山正善 Nakayama Shozen. 『こふきの研究』 Koki no kenkyu, pp. 117–8.
- ↑ Morishita, Saburo S. Teodori: Cosmological Building and Social Consolidation in a Ritual Dance, p. 123.
