Sanjūbanshin


Sanjūbanshin refers to the thirty deities in the syncretic Japanese Shinbutsu shūgō faith who were believed to protect the nation and its people on a rotating daily basis. Each of the thirty deities guards one day of the month.
The practice is said to have originated when Saichō enshrined these deities on Mount Hiei. By the Kamakura period, their worship became widespread. From the medieval period onward, they were particularly emphasized in the Nichiren and Hokke Shintō faith, as protective deities of the Lotus Sutra. This incorporation occurred because Nichizō, who was propagating the Nichiren sect in Kyoto, adopted the Sanjūbanshin from Mount Hiei for his missionary work. In addition, Yoshida Shintō developed its own Sanjūbanshin, such as "Thirty Deities Protecting Heaven and Earth," "Thirty Deities Protecting the Royal City," and "Thirty Deities Protecting Our Country." Yoshida Kanetomo claimed that the Sanjūbanshin faith originated from Yoshida Shintō. Yoshida Shintō also linked them to the "Thirty-two Deities" of the Tenson kōrin myth. In 1868, during the Shinbutsu bunri, their enshrinement was temporarily prohibited in the early Meiji period, but today they may be enshrined in temple altars or subsidiary shrines at the discretion of each sect or temple.
Historically, there are said to be about ten types of Sanjūbanshin, including: protection of heaven and earth, protection of the imperial court, protection of the royal city, protection of the country, protection of forbidden areas, protection of the Lotus Sutra, upholding of the law, protection of the Lotus Sutra, and protection of the Nio Sutra.
The table below lists the Sanjūbanshin according to the Nichiren sect: Similar lists appear in Shintō Taii and Shukyaku Shō.
DayDeity NameCurrent Shrine
1Atsuta DaimyōjinAtsuta Shrine
2Suwa DaimyōjinSuwa Taisha
3Hirota DaimyōjinHirota Shrine
4Kehi DaimyōjinKehi Shrine
5Keta DaimyōjinKeta Taisha
6Kashima DaimyōjinKashima Shrine
7Kitano DaimyōjinKitano Tenmangū
8Ebun DaimyōjinEbun Shrine
9Kifune DaimyōjinKifune Shrine
10Amaterasu KōtaijinIse Grand Shrine
11Hachiman DaibosatsuIwashimizu Hachimangū
12Kamo DaimyōjinKamigamo Shrine・Shimogamo Shrine
13Matsuo DaimyōjinMatsuo Taisha
14Ōhara DaimyōjinŌharano Shrine
15Kasuga DaimyōjinKasuga Taisha
16Hirano DaimyōjinHirano Shrine
17Ōhiei GongenHiyoshi Taisha
18Kohiei Gongen Hiyoshi Taisha
19Shōshinshi GongenHiyoshi Taisha Usa-no-miya
20Kyaku DaimyōjinHiyoshi Taisha Hakusan-hime Shrine
21Hachioji GongenHiyoshi Taisha Hachioji Shrine
22Inari DaimyōjinFushimi Inari Taisha
23Sumiyoshi DaimyōjinSumiyoshi Taisha
24Gion DaimyōjinYasaka Shrine
25Akayama DaimyōjinAkayama Zen-in
26Takebe DaimyōjinTakebe Taisha
27Mikami DaimyōjinMikami Shrine
28Hyōshu DaimyōjinHyōshu Taisha
29Naoka DaimyōjinNawakashi Shrine
30Kibi DaimyōjinKibitsu Shrine

The Sanjūbanshin are based on the Buddhist concept of protecting the nation through the Dharma, found in texts such as the Lotus Sutra, the Abhiseka Sutra, and the Nioh Rites Sutra, and were formed through the incorporation of Japanese kami within the syncretic Shinto-Buddhist framework.
With the adoption of the solar calendar, months now have 31 days. Therefore, on the 31st day, the Five Protective Deities are sometimes enshrined:
  • Yakushi Bosatsu
  • Yūshi Bosatsu
  • Tamonten
  • Jikokuten
  • Kishimojin
  • Jūrasetsu-nyo