Matsunoo-taisha Kame Legend

The Matsunoo-taisha kame legend records the messenger-animal tradition of Matsunoo-taisha in western Kyoto, in which the turtle (and the carp) is the divine messenger of the principal deity Oyamakui-no-Kami. The cult is rooted in the ancient Hata clan ujigami tradition. The shrine's grounds were developed by the Hata clan, who settled in the area in the late fifth century; in 701 Hata no Imiki Tori is said to have founded the shrine by inviting Oyamakui-no-Kami down from the iwakura of Mount Matsunoo. The messenger turtle is said to dwell in the Reiki-no-Taki on Mount Matsunoo and is tied to long life, water management and brewing. Matsunoo's revered title as the 'sake deity' derives from the Hata clan's status as an immigrant clan with brewing technology. The structure has three core scenes: the Hata clan's opening of Yamashiro and the iwakura cult of Mount Matsunoo; the founding of the shrine in 701 by Hata no Imiki Tori; and the establishment of the turtle (the messenger) of the Reiki-no-Taki and the brewing-deity character. The Hata were the leading immigrant clan of ancient Yamashiro-Kado-no-gun and were also involved in founding Fushimi Inari Taisha. Matsunoo and Inari are the twin pillars of Hata-clan ujigami worship, forming the ancient belief area of western and southern Kyoto. The setting is Matsunoo-taisha in Arashiyama Miyamachi, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto. On the summit of Mount Matsunoo (223 m) behind the shrine is the iwakura where the deity descended, and the Reiki-no-Taki, dwelling of the messenger turtle, is on the mid-slope. The precinct contains the Kame-no-I, a sacred spring much visited by brewers. With Fushimi Inari Taisha (Fushimi-ku) and Konoshima Niimasu Amateru Mitama Jinja (Kaiko no Yashiro, Ukyo-ku), Matsunoo shares the Hata clan ujigami belief area. Sources include the 'Hata clan and Matsunoo' entries in the surviving fragments of the Yamashiro no Kuni Fudoki (early eighth century), the 'Hata no Imiki' entry in the Shinsen Shojiroku (Yamashiro no Kuni Shoban section), the Engishiki Jinmyocho (927 CE) listing 'Yamashiro-no-Kuni Kado-no-gun Matsunoo Jinja Niza Narabini Myojin Tai', the medieval Matsunoo Daimyojin Engi, and the Edo gazetteers Yamashiro Meisho-shi and Miyako Meisho Zue (1780). Shrine records and Kyoto Prefecture cultural-property materials provide further documentation.