Matarajin (摩多羅神) or Madarajin (摩怛哩神) is a Buddhist god chiefly venerated in the Tendai school of Japanese Buddhism. While originally regarded as a wrathful deity obstructing rebirth in the pure land, and thus a "god of obstacles", with time he also came to be seen as a protector of adherents of Tendai doctrine, capable of warding off demons, especially tengu, as well as epidemics. He also acquired other roles, including these of a protector of performing arts (for example noh and sarugaku) and of an astral god of destiny. He additionally came to be identified with a large number of other figures, such as Mahakala, Shinra Myōjin and Susanoo, as a result acquiring some of their characteristics. He could be identified as the wrathful aspect of Amida Buddha as well. Multiple traditions regarding his iconography are documented. Initially he was depicted as a multi-armed and multi-headed deity, but with time he came to be portrayed as a smiling old man dressed like a Japanese aristocrat. He could also be symbolically represented by the okina mask.
Little evidence exists for temples, shrines or mandalas dedicated to Matarajin. It is known that he came to be enshrined in a number of historical Tendai sanctuaries, including Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei. He was also the central figure in the Genshi Kimyōdan rites. They came under criticism in the Edo period due to efforts to reform Tendai, leading to decline in the worship of Matarajin. He nonetheless continues to be celebrated in the "ox festival" of Kōryū-ji. A hidden statue representing him is also located in Mōtsū-ji, though it can only be seen once every thirty three years.
Origin The origin of Matarajin has been a subject of scholarly inquiry for a long time. Hayashi Razan (1583-1657) assumed that he developed as a result of conflation between Konpira and a deity associated with Mount Miwa. In the Edo period the Tendai priest Kakujin in his Personal Reflections on Matarajin (摩多羅神私考; Matarajin Shikō), published in 1738, wondered if this deity originated in India, China or Japan. Art historian Kageyama Haruki proposed in 1954 that he originally developed in China, and was introduced to Japan by Buddhist monks. He suggested he might have originally developed through the confusion of and Mahakala in the context of esoteric Buddhist mandalas. Today it is assumed that Matarajin's name was derived from the terms mata and matara, Japanese transcriptions of Sanskrit mātṛkā. In the context of historical Japanese Buddhism, these labels refer to deities associated with pestilence. It could also be a designation for stones or tumuli believed to be places where tengu or foxes manifested. Bernard Faure suggests that initially the name Matarajin referred to either the collective of so-called "Seven Mothers", known from the mandala, or to the god or gods ruling over them, namely Mahakala, Yama and Vinayaka, though he emphasizes the entities designated by it were at first "ill-defined". Hasuike Toshitaka attempts to instead etymologically connect Matarajin to Zoroastrian Mithra, but this proposal found no support among other researchers.
Narratives A tale dealing with the origin of Matarajin's veneration in Japan is preserved in Keiran shūyōshū (溪嵐拾葉集; composed ca. 1311–1347).
According to Sujung Kim, most likely the narrative was modeled after an earlier similar tale about Enchin encountering Shinra Myōjin (新羅明神) or another deity or deities, variants of which are known for example from Konjaku Monogatarishū (今昔物語集), Kokon Chomonjū (古今著聞集) and Taiheiki (太平記). Variants of the Matarajin narrative instead state that the first Japanese monk to encounter him was Ennin's master Saichō instead, and place the event in Qinglongsi on Mount Tiantai in China, or on Mount Hiei.
Character Matarajin has variously been described as a yasha, tengu, fox spirit and god. In modern scholarship, he is considered a member of a class of deities referred to as ijin (異神), translated as "heteromorphic gods" by Bernard Faure and as "eccentric gods" by Sujung Kim. This term has been coined by to refer to a variety of figures worshiped in medieval Japan who cannot be classified as either kami or buddhas and bodhisattvas. Veneration of them was typical for esoteric Buddhism but they declined with the rise of more orthodox currents within both Buddhism and Shinto in later periods.
Through history Matarajin morphed from a typical wrathful deity into a god associated with destiny and performing arts. Faure has argued that the change reflected “the transition from a medieval Buddhist ideology still largely indebted to India to an early modern religiosity where the discourse of Mikkyō informs - and is gradually superseded by - other cultural forms, particularly the performing arts.”
Matarajin is primarily considered a "god of obstacles". Initially he was portrayed as a demonic figure obstructing rebirth in Pure Land if not placated. This aspect of his character played a role in a ritual known as "Placating the Tengu" (天狗怖し, tengu odoshi), where he was seemingly treated as a kind of tengu and had to be pacified by engaging in frantic behavior presumably patterned on his own, such as dancing, shouting and reading randomly selected scriptures. At the same time, his presence was apparently believed to ward off other tengu and various other types of demons. Despite his initial role, with time he came to be viewed as a protector of followers of Tendai. Similar inversions of individual figures' roles are common in the history of Japanese esoteric Buddhism.
In addition to symbolically representing spiritual obstacles to enlightenment, Matarajin can also be linked to material calamities, specifically epidemics. Traditions pertaining to the ox festival celebrated in Kōryū-ji indicate he can function as a deity linked to pestilence. This role is also highlighted in Matarajin ku (摩多羅神供) from Senmyō-ji, known from a copy prepared by a certain Ryōchō, where it is stated that he possesses “the numinous power of countering epidemic deities”. As a deity connected with epidemics, Matarajin is sometimes linked to oxen, similarly to Gozu Tennō and Susanoo (celebrated during the Ushinori matsuri, literally "festival of ox riding", in the Yasaka Shrine in Tennō-machi).
It has been suggested that Matarajin's role in the tengu pacification ritual might have led to his association with noh and sarugaku. His related function as a protector of performing arts is the most well known aspect of his character today according to William M. Bodiford. In the tradition of the sarugaku performers from between the eleventh and fourteenth century, he was regarded as the protective deity of the backstage.
Matarajin was also considered a shukujin, a deity considered to have astral character and responsible for the determination of fate. The stars forming the Northern Dipper were believed to be connected to him. The term shukujin could also refer to deities of outcast groups or settlements (shuku), for example sarugaku actors and biwa hōshi. The role of a protector of such social groups is attested for Matarajin.
Matarajin was also considered the god of Buddhist dream techniques, a form of meditation meant to cultivate dream visions, already documented in the writings of the Tiantai monk Zhiyi (538-597). In this context, Matarajin was referred to as a dream king (夢王, muō). Information pertaining to this aspect of his character is known from documents from the Togakushi Shrine, first published in 2001, but originating in the eighteenth century, when it was managed by Buddhist clergy. However, there is no indication that this role was already assigned to Matarajin in earlier periods, and it most likely represents a late development.
In Tōshō-gū in Nikkō, Matarajin came to be worshiped as a tutelary deity of the Tokugawa clan, an attendant of the deified Tokugawa Ieyasu, whose mausoleum is located in the same area. Tenkai enshrined him there in 1617. As a result, in Tōshō-gū he is situated to the right of the main figure, Tōshō Daigongen (a form of Yakushi-nyorai), with placed to the left.
Identification with other figures Through his history, Matarajin was identified with a large number of other figures.
Identification between him and Mahakala, most likely based on the similarity between their names, is known from multiple sources. The process of Hindu devas acquiring new identities first in Indian Buddhism and subsequently in East Asian Buddhism is well documented. A deity worshiped near the Eastern Pagoda on Mount Hiei, Ina Tenjin (移那天神), was historically identified as Matarajin and as a manifestation of Mahakala. According to the writings of the Tendai monk Kōshū (1276-1350), Matarajin was regarded as either identical with Mahakala or as one of the demonic dakinis accompanying him, and was believed to devour livers. This was considered to be a way to help those negatively impacted by heavy karma with reaching a pure land faster, similarly as in the case of analogous beliefs about other dakinis. Most likely this tradition depended on the Chinese monk Yi Xing's description of dakinis, known from his commentary on the Mahavairocana Sutra from 725. Dakiniten and Matarajin could be associated with each other, though their conflation is better attested in Shingon than Tendai, and in the latter the two were only linked by the Kurodani branch. A text dated to 1361 identifies Matarajin with Dakiniten as a deity fulfilling wishes. A stone said to resemble a white fox located near the main hall of Enryaku-ji is referred to as Matara Tenjin in various documents, despite being associated with Dakiniten. The Edo period work Reflections on Inari Shrine (稲荷神社考, Inari jinja kō) lists both Matarajin and Dakiniten among names which could be assigned to fox spirits, alongside , Yashajin and Fuku daijin. It states that "a three-faced and six armed deity is the true form of these Matarajin and wild foxes".
A network of connections leading to exchange of attributes existed between Matarajin, Shinra Myōjin (新羅明神) and Sekizan Myōjin (赤山明神) The latter two were originally regarded as protectors of two rival branches of Tendai. Shinra Myōjin was associated with the Jimon tradition, while Sekizan Myōjin with Sanmon, with the former centered on Mii-dera and the latter on Mount Hiei. Despite the connection between them, Matarajin never acquired the title of myōjin (明神; "bright deity") himself. Through his association with Sekizan Myōjin, Matarajin also developed a connection to . The latter was conflated to him as a god of destiny, though in origin he was a Daoist figure comparable to Buddhist Enma. As Sekizan Myōjin's name was derived from the name of a mountain, Sekizan (Chishan in Shandong), the link might have originally relied on both of them being Chinese mountain gods of similar character.