Ugajin is a harvest and fertility kami of Japanese mythology, represented in both a male and a female form: the masculine variant is typically depicted with the body of a snake and the head of a bearded man, and the feminine variant with the head of a woman. In Tendai Buddhism, Ugajin was syncretically fused with the Buddhist goddess Benzaiten, becoming known as Uga Benzaiten or Uga Benten, who is sometimes depicted carrying Ugajin's effigy on her head. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Attestation
Veneration TodayActively venerated in a living tradition 2 HistoricityNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 1 Function
Domain / FunctionAgriculture and harvest 1 Identity
GenderAndrogynous / dual-gendered 2 Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 Sources
1. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend
Anthony S. Mercatante, revised and expanded by James R. Dow, Facts on File
2. Shinto: A History
Helen Hardacre, Oxford University Press
Wikipedia, "Ugajin"
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