God of crossroads, highways, and footpaths, represented by a phallus. Chimata–no-kami is the child of Izanagi-no-mikoto, born of the trousers (hence, presumably,his phallic identity) Izanagi threw down when he started his purification after his visit to the underworld. Originally perhaps a phallic deity of fertility and joining, his phallic symbol was placed at crossroads. Even today such phalluses (some very large) of wood or stone can be found in small rural shrines. In some well-known onsen (hot spring spas) Chimata-no-kami is erected, and men with sexual problems, as well as women wishing for children, will come to stroke the phallus and ameliorate their condition. Chimata-nokami is one of the aspects of Dosπjin.
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REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING:
- Philippi, Donald, trans. and ed. 1968. Kojiki. Tokyo: Tokyo University Press.
SOURCE:
Handbook of Japanese Mythology written by Michael Ashkenazi – Copyright © 2003 by Michael Ashkenazi