Kuzuryū-sha Shrine stands at a lower level than Oku-sha. The god that is enshrined there is a nine-headed dragon called Kuzuryū. He has been worshipped as the god of Togakushi for a long time, even before the god of Oku-sha.
At Oku-sha, we introduced the legend of Gakumon, who threw a cane that shone a bright light. The story actually doesn’t end there. That’s where Kuzuryū’s story comes in.
It is said that many statues of Buddha sprang up from the ground while Gakumon was heading towards where the cane fell, chanting sutras. Gakumon carried on chanting when suddenly, a huge snake with nine heads appeared. The snake was once a monk who protected this mountain, but he was turned into a terrifying snake because he mishandled Buddha's tools. The snake told Gakumon how his heart grew calm thanks to his chanting. To reward him of this grace, the snake vowed to protect this place forever. That was the birth of the god Kuzuryū. After sharing his story, the snake shut the entrance to his cave. They say it will never appear again.
This folktale was written during the Muromachi period, but apparently, the nature of Kuzuryū varies from period to period. Originally worshiped as a terrifying mountain god, over time, it became a god that empowered practitioners. During the Edo period, its character was further solidified as a god that controls water and agriculture.
Water is the source of life. Sometimes it causes damage in the form of heavy rains and avalanches, but without it, crops won’t grow, and neither humans nor animals will survive. That’s why people continued to pray for the blessings of water. Those prayers have strengthened the faith.
Legends and myths will fade away without a listener. It was human prayer that was flowing through the veins of faith. Up to this point, we have told several stories. They overlap, forming the present-day Togakushi. It stands on the stratum of stories.
