There are two Kamo Shrines in Kyoto. One is the Kamowakeikaduchi Shrine, known as the Kamigamo Shrine, and another is the Kamomioya Shrine known as Shimogamo Shrine. Together, we call them Shimokamigamo Shrine. Shimogamo Shrine stands higher in rank that corresponds to the Inner Shrine of the Grand Shrine of Ise.

The enshrined deity of Shimogamo Shrine is Kamotaketsu-no-mikoto and his daughter Tamayori-hime. In Kamogamo Shrine, a child of Tamayori-hime, Kamowakeikaduchi-no-kami is enshrined

Furthermore, father of Wakeikaduchi-no-kami, in other words, Honoikaduchi-no-kami, Tamayori-hime's husband, is enshrined at Matsuo Taisha of the same Kyoto. Therefore, Matsuo Taisha has been conducting Aoi Festival, the shrine festival of Kamo Shrine. And the person who erected it was, as you are well aware, a Hata. Hata-no-Tori was his name.

Shimokamigamo Shrines and Matsuo Taisha are sometimes referred together as "Three deities of Hata clan". In short, these are all shrines relative to the Hata clan.

This should be of no news to many, at least to this point. There is, however, another shrine that conducts the Aoi Festival. It is the Hiyoshi-Taisha located on Mt. Hiei, rising northeast of Kyoto. The enshrined deity of Hiyoshi-shrine is called Ooyamakui-no-mikoto, same deity with the Honoikaduchi-no-kami, the deity enshrined in Matsuo Taisha. This fact indicates the possibility of Hatas involvement even in the construction of Hiyoshi Taisha.

Today, Enryakuji, the head temple of the Tendai Sect stands on Mt. Hiei. Many of the monks of repute are from this Enryakuji. Among them were those related by blood with the Hata clan. It is a well-known fact that the mother of Honen, the founder of the Jodo Sect was a Hata. The founder of Tendai Sect, Saicho, himself was also a descendant of immigrants and was in very close relations with the Hata clan.

Taking such accounts into consideration, I may not be the only one suspecting that Hatas' ideas may have been reflected in the doctrine of the Tendai Esoteric Buddhism.

We can safely state that the Tendai Esoteric Buddhism can be summarized as magic esoteric. It has the impression that it had brought together all the eastern magic of Shinto, Onmyodo, Taoism and Hinduism. One esoteric point among them is the magic called "Jitsugetsusei".

Jitsugetsusei means the sun, the moon and the stars. Every living body of this world is born from it and returns to it. According the New Testament, there are three glories in the world of deities; the glory of the sun, the glory of the moon and the glory of the stars. And we humans are destined to reach these three worlds. The esoterica of Tendai sect also shows somewhat similar idea.

And this is not all. There's more to this Jitsugetsusei. While Jitsugetsusei represents the sun, the moon and the stars, another celestial globe is hidden inside. Jitsu getsu , when put together, form ___, which leads me to set forth Jitsugetsusei to mean Lucifer, the morning star. And guess what? Tendai Esoteric Buddhism worships Cherub Lucifer as their savior.

Christian people may have already recognized. Jesus Christ said, "I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright morning star". Jesus Christ, the Savior Messiah, may have been the Cherub Lucifer depicted in the esoteria of Tendai Esoteric Buddhism. That's why many Hatas came to Mt. Hiei as monks. I personally can't resist believing so.

Translated by Rie Ishida