at
Nikkō Tōshō-gū reads "Tōshō Daigongen" (calligraphy by
Emperor Go-Mizunoo).It is sometimes assumed that the word
gongen derives from
Tokugawa Ieyasu's posthumous name (Tōshō Daigongen). However, the term was created and started being used in the middle of the
Heian period in an effort to harmonize Buddhism and
indigenous religious practice in what is called shinbutsu-shūgō or "
syncretism of kami and buddhas". At that time, the assumption that Japanese
kami and buddhas were essentially the same evolved into a theory called , which held that native kami were manifestations or avatars of buddhas,
bodhisattvas and other Buddhist deities. The title "gongen" started being attached to the names of kami and shrines were built within the premises of large Buddhist temples to enshrine their tutelary kami. During the Japanese Middle Ages, shrines started being called with the name gongen to underline their ties to Buddhism. For example, in Eastern Japan there are still many
Mount Haku shrines where the shrine itself is called either gongen or jinja. •
Atago Gongen (愛宕権現) – Tengu-associated protector of fire defense, particularly worshipped by warriors on Mount Atago. • – Protector against fire disasters, worshipped at Akiba shrines. • – Protector deity in certain Shugendō lineages. •
Hachiman (八幡大菩薩 / 八幡権現) – Shinto god of war and protector of Japan, syncretised with the deity
Bishamon. •
Gozu Tennō (牛頭天王) - Ox King of healing. • – Associated with various mountain cults. • – Guardian of Mount Haguro, central to Haguro Shugendō. • – Mountain and lake deity of Hakone. • – Mountain worship deity of Hakusan; linked to Hakusan Shugendō. • – Guardian deity of Mount Hiko in Kyushu. • – Guardian of Nikkō, central to Nikkō Shugendō. •
Fūjin • – Guardian of Mount Ishizuchi, also associated with Ishizuchi Kongō Zaō Dai Gongen. • , also called "Izuna Myōjin" and enshrined in Izuna Shrine in
Nagano, is similar to a
tengu and represents the kami of
Mount Iizuna. • or is the spirit of a hot spring on Izusan, a hill in
Shizuoka Prefecture, enshrined in the
Izusan Jinja • , also known as . The kami enshrined in the three Kumano Sanzan Grand Shrines and worshipped in
Kumano shrines are the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi. • – Linked to Katayama Shrine in Kameyama; associated with miko and kugutsu traditions. •
Shinra Myōjin • – Enshrines spirits of prominent historical figures. • – Guardian deity of waterfalls in sacred mountains. • •
Tengu • is one of the most famous examples of gongen, representing
Tokugawa Ieyasu posthumously enshrined in so-called
Tōshō-gū shrines present all over Japan. The original one is
Nikkō Tōshō-gū in
Nikkō, Tochigi. •
Ugajin (宇賀神) – Snake-bodied harvest deity, syncretised with
Benzaiten. • – Shugendō deity linked to esoteric yoga practices. •
Zaō Gongen(蔵王権現) or one of two Zaō Gongen manifestations in Japan. The trio from the Omine mountain range is a manifestation of Shakyamuni Tathagata, Sahasrabhuja Avalokitesvara, and Maitreya. Ishizuchi Kongo Zaō Dai Gongen (石鎚金剛蔵王大権現) is the 2nd manifestation. The trio of Mount Ishizuchi is a manifestation of
Amitābha,
Avalokiteśvara, and
Mahasthamaprapta. ==
Gongen-zukuri ==