Funadama (船霊, 船玉, or 船魂; lit. “Spirit of the Ship”) is a kami in Japanese mythology that protects boats and sailors. Usually identified as female, she is variably said to be either a single god or a group.
History
Funadama is first mentioned in the Shoku Nihongi, within an entry dated to 763, stating that Japanese envoys were able to return home from a storm due to prayers to Funadama.
The first ship we sent to Goryeo was called Noto 能登. On the day of return, the wave was deadly and the ship drifted at sea. [Upon return] they prayed to Funadama, saying, “Thanks to the protection of Funadama, we returned safely to Japan. We are now asking the government to reward the envoy with a cotton crown.”
—The Shoku Nihongi
Later, in the 10th century, the Funadama were described as a group of four gods from present-day Wakayama Prefecture who assisted Empress Jingū’s campaign in Korea.
In the mid-Heian period, several shrines to Funadama (Funadama Jinja, 船玉神社) were built, mostly as subsidiaries of larger shrines. The Engishiki describes a subsidiary shrine of Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka dedicated to Funadama. These shrines continued in popularity throughout medieval times.
In the Tokugawa period, belief in Funadama was very popular among sailors and fishermen. No longer restrained to shrines, ships began to insert a hole in the mast, in which a pair of figures representing Funadama and other objects were placed. The Matsunoya hikki reads:
Inside the hole of the mast were a pair of god figurines, a lock of hair of the ship owner’s wife, and sugoroku 双六 (double six, a Japanese board game). They called these three items Funadama.
—Tomokiyo Oyamada, Matsunoya hikki
People would also pray to Funadama for good luck when a new ship was launched, and a ceremony at the beginning of each year had fishermen pray to her for a plentiful harvest and the ability to return home safely.
It is speculated that Funadama belief began with the belief that ships have souls, and a later belief in the Edo period, as a result of fusion with the goddess Mazu, led to Funadama being identified and named as a god that protects ships.
Identification
Funadama has been identified with many gods. Of these gods, Mazu is the most associated. By the late 18th century, images of Funadama had increasingly looked like Mazu.
