Tokyo Gods Only Want Beautiful Priestesses

The plane landed smoothly.

"Should we go straight to Itsukushima, or take a short trip around Hiroshima first?"

Of course, the shrine didn't want to go to any memorial hall, but rather to visit an art museum.

However, before he even left the airport, a group of people came toward him and stood in neat rows in front of the three members of the Jingu family.

"Welcome, Your Excellency!"

Was it arranged to be so grand?

Jingu was somewhat surprised. Everyone should know that he usually didn't make a big fuss, so why did he arrange for so many people? Didn't they know he was socially awkward?

"Please come with us, we have a car ready."

Jingu waved his hand, signaling them to step back. It wouldn't be good to scare off bystanders. Didn't they see how others were looking at him?

"You guys go back, I'll wander around first, and then go to Itsukushima Shrine."

To everyone's surprise, as soon as the shrine refused, the already anxious crowd instantly fell apart, some even kneeling down in distress.

"Lord Jingu, we must not delay any longer. Please allow us to take you to the shrine first!"

With an almost pleading tone, a large group of people knelt down, drawing even stranger glances from passersby.

No, they stopped looking and lowered their heads, some looking at their phones, others reading newspapers.

Most likely, in their minds, this was some kind of underworld gathering, and they didn't dare to watch any longer.

"Alright, alright, get up right now."

Jingu has always been more responsive to gentle persuasion than force, and since it wasn't an overly aggressive request, he temporarily put aside the idea of ​​taking a stroll first.

However, he was also curious: Biancaitian shouldn't be some kind of tyrannical goddess, so why did these people seem so fearful and terrified?

Not daring to waste a moment, surrounded by the crowd, they sped along at breakneck speed, delivering the shrine to the entrance of Itsukushima Shrine in the shortest possible time.

"Lord Jingu, please."

Itsukushima Shrine is one of the few tourist attractions in Hiroshima and one of the three scenic spots of Hiroshima. The large torii gate in the water is probably the first impression most people have of the shrine.

However, it was recently closed for renovations, awaiting the arrival of its guests.

However, he did not intend to enter the shrine through the main gate, or rather, the main gate in general.

The small boat approached the shore. In ancient times, Itsukushima Shrine was just a shrine built on an isolated island. The so-called large torii gate standing two hundred meters deep in the water was the main gate of the shrine.

However, with the changing times, the original island has been developed into a tourist attraction, and tourists now have access gates, so they only see the large torii gate in the water as a tourist attraction.

The small boat glided across the water, heading towards the large torii gate standing in the water.

Putting everything else aside, the sight of the torii gates floating in the water at Itsukushima Shrine is indeed an extremely rare and beautiful scene.

Without tourists and crowds, the shrine naturally feels even more desolate, evoking a sense of loneliness, sanctity, and the natural stillness of the world.

Quietly passing through the torii gate, the small boat arrived at Itsukushima Shrine by the water.

The young shrine maiden and Tamamo-no-Mae were simply sightseeing, while the shrine...

Other images began to appear in my mind.

Such a beautiful view, it would be a waste not to do something with it.

If all goes well, perhaps we should have the skilled dancer, Benzaiten, draped in a light veil, perform a dance for us under the receding tide at dusk, beneath the great torii gate.

The girl's toes touched the damp, fine sand, mingling with the sea's hue, as she danced beneath the majestic and sacred Torii. The beauty of nature and the human form were accompanied by the rhythmic sounds of string and wind instruments.

Just thinking about it gets me excited, damn it! The work at the shrine is getting exciting too.

With great anticipation, the shrine lifted the vermilion curtain of the main hall, expecting to see Benzaiten dressed in a beautiful manner, fully prepared.

What came into view was not the Benzaiten that the shrine had already planned to create, but another person that the shrine was not easy to deal with.

"Oh, Shrine, you've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you here for a long time."

The Great God of the Nation, who was so mature that he had the potential to become an old monster, sat upright in the main hall, looking as if he had been waiting for a long time.

Jingu's previously cheerful expression instantly fell. This older sister was too much for her to accept, even though Jingu kept trying to convince herself to call her "older sister".

But the serene grandmotherly presence of the Great Goddess was so strong that even if I slept with her, it felt like she was spoiling me, which was really strange.

"What are you doing here? Where is Benzaiten?"

Unlike Jingu, whose attitude was clearly not very comfortable, Suga Ai greeted him politely before sitting down with him.

"Of course, it's to prevent some people from making any irreparable mistakes."

Although the tone was calm, the shrine maiden could tell that the great god of the empire was genuinely angry, but this anger was not directed at the shrine maiden.

"I've temporarily placed that idiot Biancaitian under house arrest. He's so stupid; he was easily fooled by a few words."

He dusted off the incense ash, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and said without any emotion.

This made Jingu ponder: What's the relationship between these two? I've never heard of them before.

But just as he was trying to recall, the little witch secretly nudged his hand and whispered in his ear to answer his question.

Benzaiten is a composite deity. The names and legends of the three goddesses of Munakata are basically the same, and Takiri-hime is one of the wives of Ōkuninushi.

After the little shrine maiden's explanation, the shrine instantly understood why the Great God of the Ninja Ōkuninushi was waiting for him in a huff, and why those people were so terrified.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that I wasn't angry with him at all; the Great God of the Nation is truly an enlightened and benevolent deity.

Although they didn't understand how the legend of marriage between the goddesses had been passed down, the shrine temporarily abandoned some of their ideas about Benzaiten.

Juniors are not allowed to kiss their seniors, nor are they allowed to kiss their seniors' wives. Gods must have integrity and cannot play with other men's wives, or they will be stabbed three times and have six holes in their bodies.

"Sigh, it's not what you think. It's not between us, and it's not between me either... Sigh, never mind, I won't explain any more."

Seeing the expression on the shrine's face, the Ōkuninushi-shin guessed what he was thinking. His expression was somewhat conflicted and troubled, but in the end, he did not say anything to explain.

"In short, I don't really have a problem with you wanting to sleep with that child. Actually, that's not what's making me angry..."

You guys are having so much fun?

Jingu's expression clearly showed astonishment; he had always thought he was the kind of person with a chaotic private life.

It now seems that he just had too much, but it didn't reach the point of chaos.

Even though the Great God said so, the shrine was not in the mood for the time being, after all, one must have principles.

You just do whatever someone tells you to do? Pah! Disgusting!

Chapter 222 Demon Mother

A stick of incense was lit and burned quietly.

After tidying up the table, the Great God spoke again.

"Regarding the matter of the fusion of gods and Buddhas, I wonder what Jingu-kun's plans are?"

Leaving aside the matter of Benzaiten for the moment, Ōkuninushi-no-Kami began discussing serious matters with the shrine.

"Do you think gods and Buddhas should be integrated? I don't really feel anything about it. Whether you promote it or not doesn't really matter. What do you think about the Supreme God of the Nippon? Why don't you tell me?"

Having probably guessed that the Ōkuninushi would bring up this matter with her, the shrine maiden readily told her to speak freely.

The Great God sighed and first offered an explanation.

"Actually, according to the ancient divine covenant, I should not and should not interfere too much in your governance, Lord Divine Palace, but I still can't help but say a few more words about this matter."

"The power of Buddhism far surpasses that of Taoism, and the advantages of religion were seized long ago."

"Of course, I am not saying anything bad about Buddhism. In fact, Buddhism has made a great contribution to social stability, and its doctrines and ideas have influenced the history of the entire island of Yingzhou."

The Great Goddess dipped her delicate hand in water and wrote the word "balance" on the table.

"It is precisely because Buddhism is so powerful that we must abolish the practice of combining Buddhism and Taoism and support Taoism to create a balance, so that the mysteries of the entire Yingzhou cannot be controlled by Buddhism."

"Of course, if the Shinto sect becomes too strong, it can choose to support the Buddhist sect. But as things stand, the Shinto sect is only just beginning to gain momentum. Restarting it now would only lead to the Shinto sect, which was already weak, being directly swallowed up."

This is exactly what the Okuninushi-shin said. On the surface, the people of Yingzhou maintain traditional shrines and worship, but the shrines are differentiated, and the worship rituals are also adopted by Buddhism.

After all, Buddhism excels at adapting to local customs and adjusting its state and form according to different situations to make it easier for people to accept.

If a survey were to be conducted, it would be difficult to say whether the people of Yingzhou believe more in the so-called Amaterasu or in the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

"Even today, there are still many native gods of Yingzhou who are controlled by Buddhism, just like the foolish Benzaiten I mentioned."

At this point, the Great God couldn't help but sigh with regret.

"They're just using the name, they don't need any benefits from Buddhism, they can live a peaceful life by relying on the popularity of Itsukushima Shrine, but they're foolishly following others' orders."

He has the name of the God of Eloquence, but he does not possess the true wisdom of the God of Eloquence. He is so pure in his goodness that he is somewhat foolish.

This made the Great God of the Nation worry about her.

"In short, I'm not against you having feelings for her. After all, although you're lustful and fickle, you're also the kind of person who can't handle weak women. If you can get your eye on Shima-hime, that would be a good thing."

Wow, wait, sister, you really don't mind? Even if it's just a legend, she's still your legendary wife!

Jingu scratched his head. He didn't know much about the affairs between female maidens, which was probably normal.

"So I've already said that there's nothing like that between me and Island Princess..."

The great god of the nation sighed and remained silent, for myths and legends often differ greatly from reality.

That's about all I'll tell you in detail. Finally...

Whether or not to agree to the Buddhist sect's deal is up to you. I only made this trip because I didn't want the island princess to be fooled into becoming a bargaining chip.

Ōkuninushi stood up. Fortunately, Kazanin Haru took so many days to finally deliver the letter to the shrine, otherwise she would not have made it in time at all.

In a sense, she should thank Kayamain Haru.

"By the way, although I acknowledge the achievements and practical effects of Buddhism, to be honest, the doctrines of those Tantric practitioners are really hard to like."

After finishing his business, the Great God of the Nation, who was about to leave, suddenly stopped and said something to the Shrine.

Esoteric Buddhism... The Shinto shrine is not entirely ignorant of it either.

Although there are fourteen sects in Japan, only the Tendai and Shingon sects are truly powerful. While the Jodo sect has a broader scope, it has long since branched out into the Jodo Shinshu sect.

I have a basic understanding of the esoteric Buddhist teachings and some of their aspects, not to mention the connection with Yingzhou's philosophy.