17. Eight Kohjins()

(1) Kimon-Kohjins (Ushi-Tora-Kohjins)  They are the gods who preside over all the directions between the Ushi-direction (north-northeast) and the Tora-direction (east-northeast). These directions have a male character. As for these directions, you generally mistake 'Cutting-off of Ura-kimon' for 'Cutting-off of Kimon'. (Ref.Chapt.14) (2) Hitsuji-Saru-Kohjins  They are the gods who preside over all the directions between the Hitsuji-direction (south-southeast) and the Saru-direction (west-southwest). As these directions have femininity (female character), you had better not make a projecting structure in these directions when you build a house. (3) Inu-I-Kohjins  They are the gods who preside over all the directions between the Inu-direction and the I-direction (the west-northwest and the north-northwest). You should not pollute these directions. (4) Do-Kohjins  They are the gods who preside over earth, grounds, walls, and so forth. You must be careful when you chop wood for fuel, and dig up your ground within the premises. You will be punished even if you dig up your ground within the premises or under the floor, and repaint walls without any previous notice. You will be afflicted with high fever nosebleed, headache, or other ailments even if you let cutlery fall on the ground within your premises. You will be attacked with a hot head and cold feet, headache, or stiffness of your shoulder if you chop wood for fuel on the bare ground there. So you must be careful to chop it on some base, or to give previous notice to these gods every time you chop it. If you have already committed such a sin as this, you should sprinkle salt for purification on the ground, and chant 'Namu Chuh Koh Miyoh Hoh Ten' (May I be an exemplary person with the best of balance in all respects, full of affection and spirit of co-operation, and in accordance with truth, reason, and law.), and apologize to these gods saying "Honarable Kohjins, I beg your forgiveness for my wrong behavior. From now on, I will be more careful." You should designate places beforehand where you chop wood, and always use these places when you chop it. When you have to chop wood, you should give previous notice to these gods sprinkling salt for purification on the spot, and should ask the gods to leave the designated places when you chop it for fear that they may get hurt. After chopping it, you should beg them to continue to protect you again. Some person rooted up a tree without any previous notice, so that he suffered from high fever. And, a certain child, who dug up a corner within her premises while playing house, lost her life by high fever. These instances are too numerous to mention. (5) Mimawari (inspecting)-Kohjins  They are the gods who patrol your premises to prevent you from creating various sources of bad diseases. If you leave filthy things here and there around your house, pass urine or spit here and there within your premises, and dig up or scrape off your garden without previous notice, you will be attacked with high fever, stiffness of the shoulders, nosebleed, and other ailments. Bathrooms are also inspected by these gods, and so you must keep them clean. If the under part of bathtubs are unclean, you will be afflicted with swells, and so you should always be careful to keep them clean by washing with water.  A certain person was attacked with stomach sickness because he dug up mud in the drain and left it on the spot.  Another almost lost his life because he rooted up a tree without previous notice. And also, there are several instances where many infants or little children would not drink milk and were attacked with high fever in the middle of the night because their mothers helped them to pass urine from the open corridors. (6) Pillar-Kohjins  They are the gods who preside over houses. If you drive nails into any part of the houses, or repair them without previous notice, you will be visited with punishment from these gods. You are especially severely punished when you drive nails into or repair any part within about 9 inches from the joints between pillars and lintels or sills. The more dead nails you have in your houses, the more depressed you are in business, and you are also liable to suffer from toothache or cavities in the teeth. 'A dead nail' is the nail which was once driven in for some use, but which is now left unused. If you pull out even dead nails without previous notice, you or your family will be afflicted with diarrhea, headache, or giddiness. So, when you pull them out, you must do so after chanting 'Namu Chuh Koh Miyoh Hoh Ten', giving previous notice, and sprinkling some salt for purification. A screw hook is not a dead nail. If you indiscriminately drive in nails without previous notice, you will become more and more unlucky, and will be afflicted with diarrhea, high fever, lung trouble, cancers, vomiting, neuralgia, eye-diseases, blood diseases, or woman's dizziness, and sometimes lose your lives. Rebuilding without previous notice will sometimes bring death to the master in your family. In replacing a pillar, for example, you should sprinkle some salt for purification, and say beforehand "Honarable Kohjins, please allow us to replace this old pillar with a new one, and protect us again after we have replaced it." After that you should purify again with salt, and report "Replacing of the pillar was completed." (7) Fujohba-Kohjins  They are the gods who preside over the toilet rooms. You should not throw into a pot anything except feces and urine, used paper and cloth for toilet, antiseptic solution, the menses, snapped or broken needles, and finger and toe nails. If you throw a discharge from the womb afterbirth into a pot, you will be afflicted with abnormal menstruation and will suffer after childbirth.  In case of having dropped it down carelessly, you should purify with salt. When there is some blood mixed in your urine or feces, you may throw it into a pot only after sprinkling some salt for purification. If you are very careful like this, you will do so well after childbirth that you will hardly believe it true.  A certain lady once said to me that she had the discharges from her womb which had a bad odor after childbirth. It was certain that some blood-stained cotton used for disinfection after childbirth was thrown away in the pot. The bad odor ceased on the day she sprinkled some salt in the pot for purification. If you throw into the pots in the toilet-rooms, cigarette-ends or ashes, spittle, saliva, blood other than menses, vomit, and other, you will suffer from hemorrhoids, ozena, catarrh of the throat, bloody nose, and have a sickly feeling. However, you will get well if you sprinkle some salt for purification and beg pardon of the gods of toilet-rooms. Moreover, you should not repair toilet-rooms, pull down, remove, or make other changes without previous notice, or you will be punished and meet with disasters periodically. You need to ask the gods to clear off the will-waves already sent forth into the universe to punish you. Especially toilet-rooms must be kept clean. (8) Kamado-Kohjins  They are the gods who preside over the equipment in the kitchens--kitchen-ranges, portable cooking ranges, jets of gas ranges, and other fixtures with which you make a fire. The center-lines drawn east and west, and north and south in a house are placed under the control of these gods.  So, you had better have these ranges as near the center-lines as possible. A cooking range looking to the west (in which you make a fire facing towards the east) is bad. It must not be removed, changed, broken down without your previous notice. Even if you put a knife or a foot on it, you will be punished.  A certain lady was once troubled with her abnormally long menses. She had long used a portable range put on the drain board. Another had had brain trouble because his drain pipe ran just under the kitchen range. A cooking range, or a portable range should be set on clean places, and even when not in use, you should not put it under the places where you step. Each of the above eight Kohjins fills his position in company with his Wife, and they are commonly called 'Eight Kohjins'. They are accompanied by many dependants. As for a way of apologizing, you may say while sprinkling some salt for purification like this: "Namu Chuh Koh Miyoh Hoh Ten.  Honorable So and So Kohjin and Eight Kohjins, I was careless when I did such and such a thing.  I'll be more careful in the future and will have my family do likewise. Please forgive me." You beg pardon of the gods repeatedly morning and evening, and your disease, if only caused by the godly punishment from Kohjins, can be easily cured. However, after this, of course, you must not forget to do the Taisan-Kuyoh (the religious service for asking the Kohjins to leave).  A certain person was afflicted with eye-disease. No medical treatment had any effect on his disease. He was reminded of having nailed a talisman for exorcism on his pillar from a certain shrine. After he lost no time in purifying it with salt and begging pardon of the Kohjins, his eye-disease was cured. From above, I think you know that you must be careful from now on and check on your past.

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