{"id":6142,"date":"2026-05-19T11:18:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T11:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/hachiman\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T09:26:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:26:36","slug":"hachiman","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/hachiman\/","title":{"rendered":"Hachiman"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"6142\" class=\"elementor elementor-6142 elementor-3024 elementor-bc-flex-widget\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-25d5452 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"25d5452\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7141ae8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7141ae8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e69993c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"e69993c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7f4cd04 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7f4cd04\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Hachiman, Japanese war god of the samurai<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b743cbf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b743cbf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Hachiman is a Japanese war god who, since the Middle Ages, was venerated especially by the samurai as their protector in battle. Hachiman, by his full name Hachiman-Daibosatsu or Yawata-no-<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span>, is in Japanese Shint\u014d the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span> of war, of archery, and of the protection of warriors.<\/p><p>Since <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Transitional epoch between antiquity and the Middle Ages, roughly the 3rd to 7th century.\" tabindex=\"0\">late antiquity<\/span> he has been regarded as the protective god of the house of the Tenn\u014d, as patron of the Minamoto clan, and thus of the samurai in general.<\/p><p>His <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed at a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> combines Shint\u014d and Buddhist elements in a particularly pronounced way and is regarded in <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religious studies<\/span> as a key example of Japanese Shinbutsu-Sh\u016bg\u014d, the fusion of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span> and Buddha veneration.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e36e4a3 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"e36e4a3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bd64877 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"bd64877\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"iwg-pill-row\"><span class=\"iwg-klasse-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"God \/ Goddess: Personified supreme power within the pantheon of a culture, with clear areas of responsibility: forces of nature, fate, war, fertility. Venerated through cults, sacrifices and temple institutions.\">God<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/japan\/\" class=\"iwg-kultur-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Japanese Shinto kami and the Buddhist-yokai worlds.\">Japan<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d151654 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d151654\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e006062 elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"e006062\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;Es wurden keine \\u00dcberschriften auf dieser Seite gefunden.&quot;,&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h2&quot;,&quot;h3&quot;],&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;bullets&quot;,&quot;icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;fas fa-circle&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;,&quot;rendered_tag&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-circle\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 512 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M256 8C119 8 8 119 8 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S393 8 256 8z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;},&quot;minimize_box&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of Contents\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__e006062\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-down\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__e006062\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-up\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__e006062\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M500 975V858C696 858 858 696 858 500S696 142 500 142 142 304 142 500H25C25 237 238 25 500 25S975 237 975 500 763 975 500 975Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c54b873 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c54b873\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5bde348 iwg-hero-image elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"5bde348\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_japan_hachiman-683x1024.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-6143\" alt=\"Hachiman - Gods from the Japanese tradition, historical-illustrative\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_japan_hachiman-683x1024.webp 683w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_japan_hachiman-200x300.webp 200w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_japan_hachiman-768x1152.webp 768w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_japan_hachiman.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bacfd50 e-con-boxed e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"bacfd50\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-99efe39 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"99efe39\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-35a1a3b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"35a1a3b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Origin and Identification<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6b1452f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6b1452f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The name Hachiman literally means &#8220;Eight Banners&#8221; (Hachi = eight, Man\/Hata = banner) and goes back to an episode in the &#8220;Nihon Shoki&#8221; in which, at the birth of Emperor \u014cjin, eight heavenly banners descend.<\/p><p>The &#8220;Engishiki&#8221; and the &#8220;Hachiman-gud\u014dkun&#8221; (13th century) identify Hachiman with the deified Emperor \u014cjin (whose mythical reign is dated 270 to 310). Together with \u014cjin, his mother Jing\u016b-k\u014dg\u014d and his consort Hime-gami are also venerated in the Hachiman <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A small sacred place of keeping or devotion.\" tabindex=\"0\">shrine<\/span>; this triad forms the standard <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or conjuring address of a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invocation<\/span>.<\/p><p>The earliest written mention of Hachiman comes not from the mythological corpus but from the &#8220;Shoku Nihongi&#8221; (797), where, for the year 720, an <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A site or institution at which a divine pronouncement is sought.\" tabindex=\"0\">oracle<\/span> of the &#8220;Great <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span> Hachiman of Usa&#8221; is recorded.<\/p><p>Hachiman thus belongs to the younger principal gods of Shint\u014d. His rise takes place in the eighth and ninth centuries, parallel to the expansion of the Buddhist monastic state and the military securing of the capital Heian.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-74043ea e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"74043ea\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bd395ed elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"bd395ed\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Myth, Jing\u016b and the Korean Campaign<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-db28fd8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"db28fd8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the &#8220;Kojiki&#8221; and &#8220;Nihon Shoki,&#8221; \u014cjin is born as the son of Empress Jing\u016b-k\u014dg\u014d, who, according to <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">tradition<\/span>, is said to have led a successful campaign against the Korean kingdom of Silla.<\/p><p>According to the accounts, Jing\u016b was pregnant during the conquest and delayed the birth by means of a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Practices that seek to intervene in the course of events through special actions or formulas.\" tabindex=\"0\">magical<\/span> stone that she carried in her garment. \u014cjin is thus regarded as a military commander even before his birth and is subsequently deified as Hachiman.<\/p><p>Jing\u016b&#8217;s campaign against Silla is historically untenable, yet significant in religious studies because it formed the ideological basis for the Japanese notion of a divinely legitimized expansion in the Pacific region.<\/p><p>Klaus Antoni showed in &#8220;Der himmlische Herrscher und sein Staat&#8221; (1991) how this <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of a culture's transmitted narratives about the gods.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span> was used in the State Shint\u014d of the Meiji and prewar period to justify the annexation of Korea (1910) and the Pacific expansion between 1931 and 1945.<\/p><p>The <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A transmitted narrative about gods, origins, and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> surrounding Hachiman&#8217;s birth is closely linked to the Korean immigrants of the Yayoi and Kofun periods. Scholarship (Hardacre, Antoni, Vollmer) interprets the figure of Hachiman as a religious processing of the intertwined history of Korea and Japan, in which archery, metalworking and horse breeding were introduced by continental immigrants.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9e60f3e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"9e60f3e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5c505e9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5c505e9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Iconography, Symbols and Attributes<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f5638f1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f5638f1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the visual arts, Hachiman is usually depicted as an old, dignified man with a tonsure, clad in the robes of a Buddhist monk and holding a sword or a bow.<\/p><p>This monastic form goes back to the conferral of the Buddhist <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Mahayana Buddhism, an enlightened being who postpones their liberation for the sake of teaching other beings.\" tabindex=\"0\">bodhisattva<\/span> rank in the year 781; since then he has borne the title Hachiman-Daibosatsu. In warrior depictions he appears on a white horse, with helmet and armor, often surrounded by eight banners.<\/p><p>His chief attribute is the bow (Yumi) and the arrow (Ya); the archery <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An ordered sequence of symbolic actions with religious or cultural meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritual<\/span> Yabusame, in which mounted archers strike wooden targets at full gallop, is performed at his festivals and is still practiced today at Tsurugaoka-Hachimang\u016b in Kamakura, at Shimogamo-jinja in Kyoto, and at numerous other shrines.<\/p><p>The dove (Hato) is also regarded as his messenger; the pictographic character &#8220;Hachiman&#8221; was drawn in the Middle Ages with two stylized doves.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a96b58c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a96b58c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1fe76bb elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1fe76bb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Veneration and Cult Sites<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-783fb21 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"783fb21\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Hachiman&#8217;s shrine of origin is Usa-jingu in \u014cita Prefecture on Kyushu. Here the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span> is said to have first appeared through an <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A site or institution at which a divine pronouncement is sought.\" tabindex=\"0\">oracle<\/span> in the year 571; the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A small sacred place of keeping or devotion.\" tabindex=\"0\">shrine<\/span> has been imperially recognized since the eighth century.<\/p><p>From Usa the Hachiman <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed at a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> spread systematically across the entire country. Today, according to the count of the Jinja-Honch\u014d, there are around 44,000 Hachiman shrines in Japan, making Hachiman one of the most densely venerated <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span>.<\/p><p>The most important shrines outside Usa are Iwashimizu-Hachimangu south of Kyoto (founded in 859, the protective shrine of the imperial court) and Tsurugaoka-Hachimangu in Kamakura (founded in 1063, the protective shrine of the Minamoto clan and the Kamakura shogunate).<\/p><p>The latter was expanded into a monumental complex under Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun, between 1180 and 1191. With the rise of the Kamakura shogunate, Hachiman became the official protective god of the warrior class, and the status &#8220;Bushi-no-<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span>&#8221; (warrior <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span>) remained with him into the Edo period.<\/p><p>The most important festival days are the Hojo-e (release of animals, in autumn), the Reigan-Sai (festival of appearance, 15 March in Usa) and the Hachiman-Matsuri with Yabusame performances.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-324bab5 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"324bab5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e666104 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e666104\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Shinbutsu-Sh\u016bg\u014d and the Bodhisattva Title<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d60ae63 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d60ae63\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the year 781 the court conferred upon Hachiman the title &#8220;Hachiman Daibosatsu,&#8221; that is, &#8220;Great Bodhisattva Hachiman.&#8221; With this he was officially incorporated into the Buddhist <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">pantheon<\/span> and identified with various Buddhas and bodhisattvas, most frequently with Amida (Amitabha).<\/p><p>This is the earliest and most significant application of the honji-suijaku principle, the medieval doctrine that <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span> are in fact manifestations of Buddhist beings.<\/p><p>Mark Teeuwen and Bernhard Scheid, in &#8220;Buddhas and <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span> in Japan&#8221; (2003), worked out Hachiman&#8217;s key role for Japanese religious history: it was with him that the synthesis was carried out first and most consistently.<\/p><p>Only the Meiji Restoration separated the two spheres in 1868 by edict (Shinbutsu-bunri), whereby numerous Hachiman <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temples<\/span> were declared pure Shint\u014d shrines and their Buddhist components were removed.<\/p><p>Helen Hardacre documented in &#8220;<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The indigenous religion of Japan, shaped by the veneration of the kami.\" tabindex=\"0\">Shinto<\/span>. A History&#8221; how this process affected Hachiman shrines particularly drastically, because they had merged more strongly than others with Buddhist buildings and works of art.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-28994a7 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"28994a7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-37f0abe elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"37f0abe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Hachiman, the Mongol Invasions and the \"Divine Winds\"<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-545dddf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"545dddf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>During the two Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281, Hachiman was intensively <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or invoking address to a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invoked<\/span> for aid at Iwashimizu and Usa. When the Mongol fleet was destroyed by violent storms on both attempts, the Japanese court attributed this to the intervention of Hachiman and the other protective gods of the realm.<\/p><p>The storms were interpreted as &#8220;Kamikaze&#8221; (divine winds); the term acquired a sad second meaning in the Pacific War. Klaus Antoni demonstrated in 1991 that the revival of this topos in Japanese nationalism of the 1930s drew directly on medieval Hachiman texts.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a0edd1c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a0edd1c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4adc8c6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4adc8c6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Classification in Religious and Reception History<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0c3d505 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0c3d505\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In religious studies, Hachiman is a key god for several reasons: he is the youngest of the great imperial shrine gods, he is the prime example of Shinbutsu-Sh\u016bg\u014d, and he connects the spheres of the imperial dynasty, the warriors and the Buddhist monasteries.<\/p><p>Helen Hardacre characterizes him as &#8220;the most politicized <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span> of Japanese religious history.&#8221; Ross Bender, in several works (from 1979 onward), examined Hachiman&#8217;s role in the D\u014dky\u014d affair of 769, when a Hachiman <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A site or institution at which a divine pronouncement is sought.\" tabindex=\"0\">oracle<\/span> prevented the accession to the throne by the monk D\u014dky\u014d and thus became the first oracle episode of decisive religious-political importance in Japan.<\/p><p>In modern popular culture, Hachiman is less prominent in manga and anime than Amaterasu or Susanoo, but appears in works such as &#8220;Inuyasha&#8221; or &#8220;Onmy\u014dji.&#8221; The doves of the Tsurugaoka shrine have developed into a marketing <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands in place of an idea or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbol<\/span> of Kamakura and are found on sweets, postcards and souvenirs.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d198b96 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d198b96\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2ed5bd2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2ed5bd2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Cross-References within the Pantheon<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f76722a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f76722a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Within the Japanese pantheon, Hachiman stands between the sphere of the primordial gods (Izanagi, Amaterasu, Susanoo) and the later historicized <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span> such as Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane) or Toyokuni Daimy\u014djin (Toyotomi Hideyoshi).<\/p><p>Structurally he is a deified ruler, but in religious history a classic warrior and protective kami with clear functional parallels to Mars (Rome), Ares (Greece), Tyr and Odin (Germanic), as well as Skanda and Karttikeya (Hinduism, Buddhism).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d6f2c7f e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d6f2c7f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cae66f7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cae66f7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Sources<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5719dbe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5719dbe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div data-nosnippet=\"true\"><p>&#8220;Shoku Nihongi&#8221; (797), entry for the year 720. &#8220;Engishiki&#8221; (927), Book IX. &#8220;Hachiman-gud\u014dkun&#8221; (13th century). &#8220;Iwashimizu-monjo,&#8221; shrine archive. &#8220;Kojiki&#8221; and &#8220;Nihon Shoki,&#8221; translations by Klaus Antoni and Karl Florenz. &#8220;Heike-Monogatari,&#8221; Book IV (Yabusame episodes).<\/p><p>Ross Bender, &#8220;The Hachiman Cult and the D\u014dky\u014d Incident,&#8221; Monumenta Nipponica 1979. Mark Teeuwen and Bernhard Scheid (eds.), &#8220;Buddhas and <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span> in Japan.<\/p><p>Honji Suijaku as a Combinatory Paradigm,&#8221; London 2003. Klaus Antoni, &#8220;Der himmlische Herrscher und sein Staat,&#8221; Munich 1991. Klaus Antoni, &#8220;Shint\u00f4 und die Konzeption des japanischen Nationalwesens,&#8221; Leiden 1998. Helen Hardacre, &#8220;<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The indigenous religion of Japan, shaped by the veneration of the kami.\" tabindex=\"0\">Shinto<\/span>. A History,&#8221; Oxford 2017. Joseph Kitagawa, &#8220;<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">Religion<\/span> in Japanese History,&#8221; New York 1966. Inken Prohl, &#8220;Religi\u00f6se Innovationen,&#8221; Berlin 2006.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-156cee2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"156cee2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aa05e2c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"aa05e2c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Etymology and Spellings<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c22f56d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c22f56d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The name &#8220;Hachiman&#8221; (\u516b\u5e61) is composed of &#8220;hachi&#8221; (eight) and &#8220;man&#8221; or &#8220;hata&#8221; (banner, cloth). The spelling with the character for &#8220;banner&#8221; became established in <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The era of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BCE to 600 CE.\" tabindex=\"0\">classical<\/span> usage, because the eight heavenly banners that, according to the &#8220;Nihon Shoki,&#8221; descended at the birth of Emperor \u014cjin form the central birth miracle.<\/p><p>An alternative reading, &#8220;Yawata&#8221; (\u3084\u308f\u305f), survived in some shrine names, especially in Iwashimizu-Yawatamachi. The elevated form &#8220;Hachiman-Daibosatsu&#8221; (&#8220;Great Bodhisattva Hachiman,&#8221; conferred in 781) and the shrine address &#8220;Hachiman-\u014ckami&#8221; (&#8220;Great God Hachiman&#8221;) mark his twofold <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic study of God and the doctrines of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theological<\/span> standing.<\/p><p>In shrine archives of the middle Heian period, the extended formulas &#8220;Hachiman-no-<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span>,&#8221; &#8220;Hime-gami no Mikoto&#8221; and &#8220;Okinaga-tarashi-hime-no-Mikoto&#8221; frequently appear, designating \u014cjin, his consort Hime-gami and his mother Jing\u016b respectively.<\/p><p>This triad forms the &#8220;Hachiman-Sansho-Daimy\u014djin,&#8221; the standard triad of all great Hachiman shrines. Helen Hardacre and Bernhard Scheid have worked out this triad as a distinctive profile that sets Hachiman apart from other imperial kami.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7b06528 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7b06528\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-025000d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"025000d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Shrine Architecture of the Hachiman Style<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b71bcc0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b71bcc0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Hachiman <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A small sacred place of keeping or devotion.\" tabindex=\"0\">shrine<\/span> building style (&#8220;Hachiman-zukuri&#8221;) is a class of its own within Japanese shrine architecture. It consists of two main buildings placed in parallel and joined by a common roof. The front building (&#8220;Geden&#8221;) serves for veneration by the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A person who undertakes a religiously motivated journey to a sacred place.\" tabindex=\"0\">pilgrims<\/span>, the rear one (&#8220;Naiden&#8221;) houses the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span> symbols.<\/p><p>This double structure distinguishes the Hachiman style from the older Shinmei-zukuri (Ise) and from the Taisha-zukuri (Izumo). The Usa-jingu and the Iwashimizu-Hachimangu are the classic examples of this style and are at the same time Japanese national cultural monuments.<\/p><p>The roof forms are consistently &#8220;Kirizuma&#8221; (gable roof) with far-projecting front-roof layers. The main colors are vermilion red for the load-bearing columns and white for the exterior walls, in combination with gold-colored fittings.<\/p><p>This coloring was introduced in the Middle Ages under the influence of Buddhist architecture and is still today the visual hallmark of the Hachiman shrines, clearly distinguishing them from plainer shrines (such as Ise).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2701a92 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2701a92\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cf3abb9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cf3abb9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Hachiman and the Theology of the Sword<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4f69698 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4f69698\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A special tradition is the connection of Hachiman with the &#8220;three <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the divine and thereby withdrawn from everyday use.\" tabindex=\"0\">Holy<\/span> Swords&#8221; of the Minamoto clan. These swords are said to have been blessed by the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A small sacred place of keeping or devotion.\" tabindex=\"0\">shrine<\/span> at Iwashimizu upon the accession of each new head of the family.<\/p><p>The tradition of consecrating swords to Hachiman is attested several times in the &#8220;Heike-Monogatari&#8221; and the &#8220;Genpei-Seisuiki&#8221; and shaped Japanese warrior religiosity into the late Edo period.<\/p><p>In the modern Bushid\u014d discourse of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hachiman was raised to a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands in place of an idea or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbol<\/span> figure on which nationalist sword ethics leaned; Klaus Antoni has critically documented this connection.<\/p><p>The &#8220;sword-smithing school&#8221; of Bizen, which produced blades for the imperial guard, traditionally <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Handed over to the sacred through a religious act and thereby set apart from the everyday.\" tabindex=\"0\">consecrated<\/span> its best blades to Hachiman shrines. Several of these blades, including works of the S\u014dsh\u016b school of the early 14th century, are preserved as treasures at Tsurugaoka-Hachimangu and Iwashimizu-Hachimangu and are regarded as important cultural assets of Japan.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ccb2568 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ccb2568\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-45b7713 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"45b7713\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Hachiman in the Edo Period and in Folk Religion<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a0b7cea elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a0b7cea\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>During the Edo period (1603 to 1867), Hachiman remained the protective god of the warrior class, but additionally gained importance as the protective god of townspeople and merchants.<\/p><p>In Edo (present-day Tokyo), numerous Hachiman shrines were founded in the newly laid-out districts of the city, often as the protective <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuary<\/span> of a trade guild or a street.<\/p><p>The Tomioka-Hachimangu in Fukagawa (founded in 1627) is the largest and best-known of these urban Hachiman shrines; its triennial main festival with the large portable shrines (Mikoshi) is among the three largest festivals of Tokyo.<\/p><p>In the woodblock art of the Edo period (Ukiyo-e), Hachiman is a recurring <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A recurring element of content in art or narrative.\" tabindex=\"0\">motif<\/span> as a mounted figure. Kuniyoshi, Hokusai and Yoshitoshi created several series on Hachiman and on the birth of \u014cjin.<\/p><p>These pictures document the popular familiarity with the Hachiman <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of a culture's transmitted narratives about the gods.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span> and show that the figure had broad appeal beyond the courtly and military elites.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-47f0bdb e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"47f0bdb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1172261 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1172261\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Controversies over the Historical Substance of \u014cjin<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1683d52 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1683d52\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The identification of Hachiman with the mythical Emperor \u014cjin is controversial both in religious studies and in history. The official imperial chronology dates \u014cjin&#8217;s reign to the fourth century (270 to 310 by traditional reckoning), yet <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The discipline that investigates past cultures on the basis of material finds.\" tabindex=\"0\">archaeology<\/span> shows that the imperial dynasty becomes historically tangible only in the fifth century.<\/p><p>The Daisen-Kofun in Sakai (Osaka Prefecture) is traditionally regarded as \u014cjin&#8217;s tomb, but cannot be attributed to him with certainty. It is more likely that the \u014cjin figure is a later construction into which several historical royal figures have flowed together.<\/p><p>Ross Bender, Joan Piggott and other historians have argued that the Hachiman-\u014cjin identification fulfilled a political function in the eighth century: it offered the rising Yamato dynasty a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the divine and thereby withdrawn from everyday use.\" tabindex=\"0\">sacred<\/span> anchoring in a warrior <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Japanese Shinto, the venerated spirit beings and divine powers.\" tabindex=\"0\">Kami<\/span> who at the same time established the connection to the Korean immigrant clans.<\/p><p>Hachiman scholarship of the past thirty years has largely adopted this political reading and emphasizes that the religious history of Hachiman cannot be separated from the political history of early Japan.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d6c5c2e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d6c5c2e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-197dcba elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"197dcba\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Comparative Classification<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-942fa6a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"942fa6a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Structurally, Hachiman belongs to the class of warrior and protector deities represented in almost all the pantheons of the Eurasian high cultures. Within East Asian religious history, the closest parallels are Guan Yu (Chinese war god, a hero of the late Han period deified in <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious-philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span>) and the Korean Hwarang <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed at a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span>.<\/p><p>In a broader comparison, parallels emerge with Mars and Hercules (Rome), Ares and Heracles (Greece), Tyr and Thor (Germanic), Skanda-Karttikeya (Hinduism) and Indra in his warrior aspects.<\/p><p>The distinctiveness of Hachiman in relation to these deities lies in the combination of warrior function and Buddhist bodhisattva status. This duality is almost unique in comparative religious history and makes Hachiman a particularly fruitful object of study in religious studies.<\/p><p>Mark Teeuwen and Bernhard Scheid have shown in several studies that this duality is no contradiction, but corresponds essentially to the Japanese understanding of religion since the early Middle Ages.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hachiman, Japanese war god of the samurai Hachiman is a Japanese war god who, since the Middle Ages, was venerated especially by the samurai as their protector in battle. Hachiman, by his full name Hachiman-Daibosatsu or Yawata-no-Kami, is in Japanese Shint\u014d the Kami of war, of archery, and of the protection of warriors. Since late [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6143,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Hachiman","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Hachiman: Japanese War God of the Samurai | iWell Guard","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Hachiman is the Japanese kami of war, patron of the samurai. Originally a grain god, identified with Emperor \u014cjin. 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