Moreya or Moriya (洩矢神, Moriya- / Moreya-no-Kami) is a Japanese god who appears in various myths and legends of the Suwa region in Nagano Prefecture (historical Shinano Province). The most famous of such stories is that of his battle against Takeminakata, the god of the Grand Shrine of Suwa (Suwa Taisha).
Moriya is regarded as the mythical ancestor of the Moriya clan (守矢氏), a priestly family that formerly served in the Upper Suwa Shrine (上社, Kamisha), one of the two sub-shrines that make up Suwa Taisha. In addition, he is venerated as a local tutelary deity (ubusunagami) in a shrine in Okaya City near the Tenryū River, which in later variants of the aforementioned myth is identified as the place where Takeminakata and Moriya fought each other.
Whereas local historians have traditionally interpreted the myth as a mythologized account of a historical struggle between a powerful local polity in the Lake Suwa region and its environs, associated with the Moriya, and an incoming group identified with the Suwa clan, the high priestly lineage of the Upper Suwa Shrine, alternative interpretations have questioned this historical reading. One view holds that the myth was gradually influenced by medieval traditions concerning the historical conflict between Prince Shōtoku and the anti-Buddhist ōmuraji Mononobe no Moriya. Another proposes that the myth is of comparatively late origin and was constructed on the basis of this Shōtoku–Moriya narrative, with Mononobe no Moriya serving as the model for the local deity Moriya.
Name What is currently the most commonly used rendering of Moriya's name in kanji, 洩矢, appear in sources such as the Suwa Daimyōjin Ekotoba (1356) and the genealogical record of the Moriya family compiled during the early Meiji period (late 19th century) known as the Jinchō Moriya-shi Keifu (神長守矢氏系譜, "Genealogy of the Jinchō Moriya Clan"). It is also the rendering adopted by Moriya Shrine (洩矢神社) in Okaya City in Nagano, where the deity is enshrined. A number of other texts (see below) meanwhile refer to the god as Moriya Daijin (守屋大臣), an epithet more often used for the historical Mononobe no Moriya in medieval and later sources.Nihon Kōtei Keizu (日本皇帝系図), in
Background Suwa Shrine and its priesthood
The Grand Shrine of Suwa (Suwa Taisha) in Nagano Prefecture consists of four shrines grouped into two sites: the Upper Shrine (上社, Kamisha), located southeast of Lake Suwa, in the cities of Chino and Suwa, and the Lower Shrine (下社, Shimosha), located in the town of Shimosuwa in the northern side of the lake. Historically, the Upper and Lower Suwa Shrines essentially functioned as two separate entities, each with its own set of shrines, religious ceremonies, and priests.
Before the rise of State Shinto in the Meiji period, the position of head priest or Ōhōri (大祝) in the Upper Shrine was occupied by members of the Suwa clan (諏訪氏, Suwa-shi), also known as the Miwa or Jin (神氏, Jinshi / Miwa-shi). The Suwa clan traditionally traced its lineage either to the shrine's deity Takeminakata, also known as Suwa Daimyōjin (諏訪大明神), the "Great Deity of Suwa," or through his chosen first priest, usually given the name 'Arikazu' (有員) in medieval texts. The holder of the highest priestly office was regarded as a deity manifested in human form (arahitogami), the living manifestation or "divine body" (shintai) of Suwa Daimyōjin.
The second-highest priestly office was that of the Kan-no-Osa or Jinchō (神長), later known as the Jinchōkan (神長官), a hereditary position held by the Moriya clan, who regarded themselves as the ritual successors and heirs of the god Moriya. The officeholder presided over ceremonies at the Upper Shrine, including the investiture of the Ōhōri, and consequently occupied a prominent position in the shrine hierarchy. He also had the prerogative of summoning and installing the Mishaguji (divine spirits associated with certain Upper Shrine rites) in objects that served as their vessels (yorishiro), and of dismissing them when the rites were concluded.
Mythology Moriya and Suwa Daimyōjin The most famous story involving Moriya is that of his battle against Takeminakata / Suwa Daimyōjin, who is said to have come to the Suwa region seeking to dwell there or to conquer it. One version of this myth involves the Suwa deity or his subordinate defeating Moriya, described as armed with an iron ring or hook, using only a wisteria (藤, fuji) branch or vine. Another variant has Suwa Daimyōjin and/or his companion or avatar, the boy Arikazu, defeating Moriya in battle.
In the Suwa Daimyōjin Ekotoba
What is perhaps the most well-known version of the story is found in the 1356 text Suwa Daimyōjin Ekotoba, where it is recorded as the origin myth of Fujishima Shrine (藤島社, Fujishima-sha) in Suwa City, one of the Upper Shrine's auxiliary shrines where its yearly rice-planting ceremony is traditionally held.
The myth also appears in the Suwa Daimyōjin Kōshiki (諏方大明神講式), a Shinto-Buddhist liturgical eulogy (講式, kōshiki) attributed to Suwa (Kosaka) Enchū (1295–1364), the author of the Ekotoba. The text incorporates the story into a medieval legend in which the deity is said to have been an Indian king who attained enlightenment and later manifested as a kami in Japan. Moriya is identified as an incarnation of the demon king (魔王, Maō), who opposed him first in India in the form of a rebellious vassal and later in Japan as “Moriya the evil outlaw” (洩矢惡賊). After his defeat, Moriya fled to Moriyagatake (洩矢ヶ嶽, “Moriya’s peak”), known today as Mount Moriya. The work then draws a parallel between the deity and Mononobe no Moriya, prefiguring the later conflation of the two figures:
In the Suwa Nobushige Gejō
The Suwa Nobushige Gejō (諏訪信重解状, “Petition of Suwa Nobushige”) is purportedly a formal petition submitted to the Kamakura shogunate in 1249 (Hōji 3) by Suwa Nobushige, then Ōhōri of the Upper Suwa Shrine, and contains a somewhat different version of the myth. The document is now generally regarded as apocryphal, with its composition dated to no earlier than the following (14th) century.Suwa Nobushige Gejō (諏訪信重解状), in
In other late medieval texts The Jinshi Keizu (神氏系図, “Genealogy of the Jin [Miwa] Clan”), a Suwa clan genealogy attributed to Suwa Sadamichi (諏訪貞通), Enchū’s third great-grandson and the copyist of the extant Kōshiki manuscript, records a tradition recounting how the Suwa deity and the eight-year-old Arikazu (有員), the legendary founder of the Suwa priestly lineage, defeated “Moriya” (守屋) at Mount Moriya during the reign of Emperor Yōmei (585–587), closely paralleling the historical conflict between Prince Shōtoku and Mononobe no Moriya.
The same legend is found in another genealogical text titled the Miwa-ke / Jinke Keizu (神家系図, "Genealogy of the House of Miwa / Jin") or the Ōhōri-ke Keizu (大祝家系図, "Genealogy of the Ōhōri House"),神家系図 (Jinke Keizu), in and the Ten'in Goroku (天陰語録), a Muromachi period work authored by the Rinzai monk Ten'in Ryūtaku (天隠龍沢, 1422-1500). These two works name Suwa Daimyōjin's opponent 'Minister Moriya' (守屋大臣 / 大臣守屋), in agreement with the Nobushige Gejō.
In Edo period texts
A kōshiki from Suwa Shrine surviving in three late 17th century manuscripts titled Suwa Kō-no-shiki (諏方講之式 / 諏訪講之式) presents a version of the myth closely resembling that found in the Nobushige Gejō, in which 'Minister Moriya' (守屋ノ大臣) and the Suwa deity compete in a contest using hooks (鑰, kagi) of wisteria and iron. The text also provides an etymology for the name 'Suwa'.
A version of the myth is recounted in a mid-19th century work by merchant and kokugaku scholar Matsuzawa Yoshiakira (1791-1861), the Ken'yū Hongi (顕幽本記, "Fundamental Records of the Visible and Invisible [Realms]"). It portrays Moriya (守屋神) as the original ruler of Suwa, who resists the arrival of Suwa Daimyōjin until he is defeated by Fujishima Daimyōjin, the deity's emissary.
A text preserved in the Moriya family archives titled "The Origin of Suwa Daimyōjin" (諏訪大明神由来, Suwa Daimyōjin Yurai) describes the god Takeminakata as displaying his strength to the warrior deities Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi during their mission to secure the transfer of Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni to the heavenly deities. He eventually agrees to cede the land, after which the three travel to Suwa and defeat Moriya. This reflects a broader reinterpretation of the imperial kuni-yuzuri ("transfer of the land") myth in late medieval and early modern sources associated with Suwa Shrine, beginning with the Suwa Daimyōjin Ekotoba and Suwa Daimyōjin Kōshiki. These two texts, in contrast to the original version of the myth found in the Kojiki and the Sendai Kuji Hongi, present Takeminakata as voluntarily establishing his domain at Suwa. This reinterpretation was reflected in many Edo-period Suwa texts, including the Yurai.
In the Jinchō Moriya-shi Keifu
In the late 19th century, Moriya Saneyoshi (守矢実久), the 76th Moriya clan head and the last person to serve at the Upper Shrine as Jinchōkan (hereditary priesthood having been abolished by the government in 1871), compiled a genealogy titled the Jinchō Moriya-shi Keifu (神長守矢氏系譜, "Genealogy of the Jinchō Moriya Clan"), which traces the family and their priestly office back to the mythic past.Jinchō Moriya-shi Keifu (神長守矢氏系図), in
The text notably weaves together the imperial kuni-yuzuri narrative and the local Moriya myth, as had already occurred in the earlier Suwa Daimyōjin Yurai. However, whereas the Yurai portrays Takeminakata as a powerful deity who sides with the heavenly messengers Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi and defeats Moriya alongside them, the Keifu describes 'Minakatatomi-no-Mikoto' as having "fled" to Suwa from the land of Izumo in accordance with the Kojiki (which first became known in Suwa during the early modern period).
Other myths Moriya and Yatsukao / Ganigawara
A story found in a late source claims that Takeminakata and/or Moriya (Moreya) fought another local deity named Yatsukao-no-Mikoto (矢塚男命), who died during the conflict.
A version of the story as retold by local author Nogiku Imai portrays Yatsukao, alias 'Ganigawara no Chōja' (蟹河原の長者), as a chieftain and horse breeder whose might and influence rivaled that of Moreya, one of the powerful chiefs of the region. After Moreya swore fealty to Takeminakata after his defeat, Ganigawara held Moreya in contempt for choosing to surrender and had his servants publicly revile him as a coward. Although their insults went unheeded at first, Ganigawara's men eventually resorted to violence, shooting arrows at the palace Moreya and other deities were erecting for Takeminakata. In retaliation, Takeminakata raised up an army and launched an all-out attack against Ganigawara with Moreya at his side. Ganigawara, mortally wounded by an arrow in the ensuing skirmish, repents in his deathbed and entrusts his youngest daughter to Takeminakata. Takeminakata gives her hand in marriage to a god who was injured by Ganigawara's messengers while guarding his palace.
The rain god of Mount Moriya
Behind the Upper Shrine, straddling the border between the cities of Suwa and Ina, stands the 1,650 metre-high Mount Moriya. On its eastern peak stands a miniature shrine or hokora enshrining a deity referred to in old documents as 'Moriya Daijin' (守矢大臣 or 守矢大神). The deity has been identified either with the Moriya of Suwa legend or the deified Mononobe no Moriya. The latter is enshrined on the southern side of the mountain at a shrine in the former town of Takatō (now part of Ina), whose shrine regards the summit hokora as its oku-no-miya (奥宮, lit. "inner shrine" or "rear shrine").
Moriya Daijin is considered to be a weather deity who causes rain to fall when angered. Local rainmaking rituals once involved provoking the god into sending rain by vandalizing the hokora or throwing it down the mountain side.