Uga-jin: The Coiled-Serpent God with a Human Head

Author(s): Alice Getty

Source: Artibus Asiae, Vol. 8, No. 1 (1940), pp. 36-48
Published by: Artibus Asiae Publishers
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 ALICE GETTY:
UGA-JIN: THE COILED-SERPENTGOD
WITH A HUMAN HEAD

THE CULT OF UGA-JIN IN JAPAN, IS AS MYSTERIOUS AND ELUSIVE AS THAT OF

Kangi-ten, the double form of the elephant-faced god, Ganesa (v. A. Getty, Ganes'a,
p. 8o). In fa&, it may be said to be even more jealously guarded from the prying
eyes of the unitiated since the very existence of Uga-jin is denied by the priests in
charge of his shrines. No statues of him are to be found in the museums nor altars
apparentlyset up to his worship, in the temples of Japan; but in several out-of-the-way
temples, we came upon ex-votos of the deity placed on the thrones of important
Buddhist gods and thus sacred from the greed of the colle&or.
It was by mere accident, or rather, through the insatiable habit of colleding, that we
discovered the secret cult of Uga-jin. At Enkaku-ji, in Kamakura,when adding to our
colle&ion of ofudas or prints of deities usually sold at the entrances of the Japanese
temples, we saw for the first time an ofuda of a god with the body of a coiled-serpent
and with the head of a bearded man (fig. i). We learned that his name was Uga-jin
and that the print was that of a wooden image believed to have been carved by
Ko-o--Daishi. At our demand to see the image, we where answered by a negative
shake of the head which clearly showed us that we had unwittingly come upon a secret
cult closely guarded. We nevertheless sent to ask the high priest for permission to see
the image. He replied that at Enkaku-ji, there was no such image and when confront-
ed with the ofuda he still remained obdurate as to his assertion.
There was nothing now to be done but to appeal to the Lord Abbot, and our inter-
preter was successful in obtaining permission for us to see the image of Uga-jin, at
the same time offering a largesse for propitiation of the deity. A priest soon joined
us and led the way to a wooded hill behind the main temple. We followed him up a
winding path and finally came upon a high wall which surrounded the shrine of Uga-jin,
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 r

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Fig. 2 Uga-jin
Collecionof theAuthor

and after an explanation to the guardian-priest, we were admitted within the precin&s.
In the centre of the enceintewas a charming little temple behind which were several
grottoes in the side of the hill, and while the propitiatory ceremony was being pre-
pared, we were permitted to explore them. In each grotto were one or more crudely-
carved stone images of Uga-jin that gave the impression of antiquity but we could
obtain no information in regard to them.
Returning to the main entrance, we saw the priests from Enkaku-ji arriving in gorgeous
vestments and disappearing into the temple from where we soon heard the chanting
of a weird litany accompanied by the beating of a wooden drum and the sound of a
flute. We had been told that at a certain moment in the ceremony, we should be
allowed to contemplate the image for a few moments and shortly, the shoji were drawn
back and we were bidden into the temple.
A zuchi had been placed on a small altar at the entrance and its doors were opened
disclosing a beautiful wood-carved image, about seven inches high and slightly poly-
chromed. It was unquestionably the creation of a great artist for the suppleness of the

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 Fig. 3 Uga-jin Collection
of the Author

coils of the serpent and the inscrutible expression of the face showed a skill that was
undeniable. In fa&, it was a masterpiece; but what was its age? It would be impossible
to tell without careful examination but we were not permitted to touch it. Time was
up, the doors of the zuchi were closed and the shoji drawn behind us. We heard the
chanting taken up again as we were led down the path to the dwelling of the Lord
Abbot. We thanked him for his great favour and presented, in properly-folded paper,
the promised largesse; but although he was most gracious and offered us ceremonial
tea, every attempt to learn the symbolic meaning of the god or something in regard
to his originor history,was met with a reticencethat was most disconcerting.
In the courseof severalvisitsto Japan,we wereableto acquiretwo smallimagesof Uga-jin:
one in bronze (fig. 2) and one in carved wood, slightly polychromed (fig. 3), each with a
cover having an opening through which Uga-jin might survey the worshipper. Undoubtedly,
these were private shrines which, after consecration, were never uncovered. Later, we found
another image, wood-carved, polychromed and somewhat Chinese in aspe& (fig. 4).

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 Fig. 4 Uga-jin
Collectionof the Author

Certain Japanese authorities have identified Uga-jin with the serpent in the headdress
of Benzai-ten because, according to the HLbi-firin, she is referred to in several "apocryph-
al" sijtras as "Uga" (white serpent) and has a small human-headed serpent in her chignon.
Other Japanese scholars, we learn from Mr. Haguenauer (letter to the author), consider
this interpretation as "forced and without value" and look upon Uga-jin as a perfef&ly
independent deity whose origin is shrouded in mystery. Following the Japanese Buddhist
tradition, the word "Uga" is probably a transcription corresponding with the sanskrit
word ugaya (word not to be found in Sanskrit dif&ionaries);but in the Bukky6-daijiten,
however, the word hui is given.
Curiously enough, this strange god has been found in several countries in the Near
East; but unlike the god, Ganeia, whose worship may be traced step by step from

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India to Japan, the cult of Uga-jin has fur-
nished no element by which we may trace its
provenence. And still, the resemblance be-
tween the serpent-god of Japan and the god
of fertility worshipped in Iraq, Babylonia and
Mesopotamia 3000 years before our era, is
unmistakable. Both are represented with the Fig. Sealfoundat Susa
Musie du Louvre
body of a coiled-serpent and the head of a
middle-aged man with a beard. Is this re-
semblance merely a coincidence? But if not,
how did the cult of the fertility-god of the
Near East reach Japan? There are two plaus-
ible routes: one by land from Iran, across
Central Asia and traversing China; and the
other, by sea through the Persian gulf, along
the coast of India and from there on to
China, thus following the same route as the
masters of Kobi-Daishi. In the latter case, it
is not impossible that Kob--Daishi, himself,
introduced the cult into Japan.
We do not know in what country the cult
Fig. 5bis Seal found at Susa(Detail)
of the serpent-god was first conceived. We Musie du Louvre

are not able to advancethe theory that it originatedin the Indus valley, since no images
nor cylinder-sealsdepiding the deity have as yet been found either at Harappaor at
MohenjoDaro. On the other hand, it cannot be claimedthat the birth-placeof the cult
was in the hills of Tell Asmar,since cylinder-sealshave been found elsewherewhich date
severalcenturiesbefore the foundationof Eshnunna,centreof the fertility-godcult in Iraq.
Probablythe earliest-knownseal depiding the serpent-god,is that in the Louvre which
was found in Lower-Mesopotamia by M. Delaporte(fig.5) and is attributedto 3000 B. C.
It representsa coiled-serpentgod withoutarmsand the headis that of a middle-agedman

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 with clean-shaven lips; but underthe
chinthereis a beard,which would in
dicate according to M. Charles F.
Jean, the pre-Sumerian period (La
ReligionSumerienne,p. 28); whereas
on all of the seals that have been
found up to now in Iraq and Ba-
bylonia, the deity is depi&ed with
arms and wearing a full beard. This
latter detail, we learn from the same
source, would show Semitic influ-
Fig.6 Alabaster
groupfoundat Eshnunna
ence and thus indicate the Akkad-
ian period. Are we to assume from the above that the birth-place of the serpent-god
of fertility was in Lower-Mesopotamia?
Another question in regard to the serpent-god presents itself: what was his name?
Dr. Frankfort seems to be of the opinion that he is none other than Ningizzida (Gods
and Myths on SargonidSeals, p. Ii, "Iraq");but no texts nor inscriptions have as yet come
to light bearing on this point. Was his cult esoteric and so secret that his name was
not to be revealed to the uninitiated, much less referred to in religious texts and in-
scriptions? Was he a mystic form of Tammuz, Babylonian god of fertility? It is not
impossible, since Tammuz, in his aspe& of creator, according to Dr. Contenau, was
represented as a man "d'age mir" (Manueld'ArcheologieOrientale,p. 270), and this detail
is important for, as we have said above, the serpent-god in Japan as well as in the Near
East, is, like the Chinese Immortals, represented as a middle-aged man. According to
Mr. Pinches (v. Tammuz,Hastings Encyclopedia of Religions and Ethics) Tammuz, along
the Persian gulf, was worshipped as "god of the teeming waters" and was closely conned-
ed with Ea; while inland, he was looked upon as "god of fruitfulness" of the plains
of Babylonia. Such being the case, would it be stretching a point to suggest that
Tammuz, when embodying these two aspe&s of the fertility-god, might take on the
body of a serpent which is equally at home in both elements of land and sea? At

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Fig. 7 Babylonian
Cylinder-Seal
PierpontMorganCollection

foundat Tell Asmar

Fig.8 Cylinder-Seal
UniVersityof Chicago

Fig. 9 BabylonianCylinder-Seal
PierpontMorganCollection

Fig.Io Cylinder-Seal
BritishMuseum

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 Fig.II Cylinder-Seal
BibliothkqueNationale

any rate, Dr. Frankfort refers to the fertility-god "in his aspe& of serpent-body" when
describing the alabaster group that was found in the chapel of a private house at
Eshnunna (v. Iraq of Old, "The Times", July 10, 1933). The god is represented with
the serpent-body and wears a full beard but appears to be without arms and on
either side is a personage, a man and a woman. There is no inscription but it is
probable that they are the donors and that the deity is worshipped by the couple as
god of fecundity (fig. 6).
That the serpent-god was looked upon as the generative force in nature, is apparently
shown by the cylinder-seals. On a seal in the Pierpont Morgan colleaion (fig. 7), he
is represented receiving the god Ea who holds up his hand in salute (fingers extended
with the palm turned inwards) while with the other, he draws a woman toward the
shrine, who has undoubtedly come to supplicate for an offspring. The god offers a
bowl which is significant and behind the deity, is the barred-door symbol that is the

obje& of much surmise. On a seal found at Tell Asmar (fig. 8), we find the same scene
but more complete. The serpent-god is seated behind the fire-altar which, we learn
from Dr. Frankfort, is "not at all common on Sargonid seals, but which appears almost
always in front of the snake-god" (Gods and Myths on SargonidSeals, Iraq, April, 1938).
There is also the sun-symbol as well as the sprouting plant, but this latter symbol may
accompany other deities of the Babylonian pantheon who where without doubt worship-
ped locally as gods of fertility. On a seal in the Mushe Guimet (no. 30, CylindresOrientaux

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au Musie Guimetpar L. Delaporte), the serpent-god is holding the sprouting twig and
is apparently offering it to a worshipper, behind whom is a deity, possibly, Ea.
On another seal in the Pierpont Morgan colledion (fig. 9), there is a scene that merits
careful study. Three men stand before the serpent-god giving the same salute as the
god Ea, described above, and the fertility-god returns the salute with the same gesture.
The last man is ornately dressed and may be the suppliant presented by the other
two, who are undoubtedly priests. The head of the serpent-god is shown full-face,
which is most unusual and he seems to be looking downwards while under his left
arm there appears to be the figure of a small child with extended arm holding a round
obje&. This cylinder- seal has an inscription, the translation of which might throw light
on this remarkable scene.
The significance of the barred-door (or "gate")-symbol which is so often found on
the seals depi&ing the serpent-god, has not yet been made clear. Mr. Sidney Smith
explains the symbol as being "one of the doors on the horizon through which the
sun-god is often shown as rising, stepping over mountains" (letter to the author). Shamash
however does not always seem to be associated with the door since on a seal in the
British Museum (fig. io), he is seated before the serpent-god behindwhom, is the door,
and is offering a bowl in which the fertility-god is placing a sprouting plant. Mrs. Douglas
van Buren is of the opinion that the door-symbol indicates a sanduary (v. The Flowing
Vase, p. 37). As a matter of fa&, its presence might signify that the deity is in his
shrine were it not for the fa& that the "door" is usually shown behind the serpent-
god. On a seal, however, in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris (no. 78), the "door" is behind
the visiting deity (fig. ii) and also on a seal in Berlin (no. 392, v. AltorientalischeSiegel-
bilder von O. Weber), where the seated deity seems to be in animated argument with
the serpent-god. On a seal in Philadelphia (no. 164, v. The Culture of the Babylonians
from their Seals, University Museum of Philadelphia), the sun-god is seen climbing a
mountain on the summit of which, is the door-symbol. Does this indicate that the
shrine of the serpent-god was believed to be on a mountain top?
When worshipped in his asped of god of fecundity, was the serpent-god regarded,
symbolically, as opening the door of life? Or, if as fertility-god was he believed to

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 Fig.12 Quetzalcoatl
Musie de l'Homme, Paris

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 Fig. I3 Quetzalcoatl
British M•useum

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watch the recurring seasons and survey the sprouting vegitation from the door of his
sanduary or to look out upon the horizon and follow the rising and setting of the
sun, thus doing hommage to the sun-god, Shamash? These and other interpretations
of the door-symbol might be given, but none of them would explain the meaning
of the barred door. Curiously enough, the Chinese chara6ter for "sun" El somewhat
resembles the barred-door symbol (the ancient charader was a barred circle); but un-
doubtedly, this is only a coincidence.
Is it also a coincidence that the Mexican god, Quetzalcoatl, in his asped of creator,
is represented with the body of a coiled serpent? He differs, however, from the serpent-
god of fertility that we have met with in Japan and the Near East, in that he has the
serpent head; but from his open jaws protrudesa humanhead. In the Musee de l'Homme,
in Paris, the stone-carved image of Quetzalcoatl shows the serpent head clearly (fig. 12);
but in that of the British Museum (fig. 13), the serpent head is scarcely apparent and
the transition to a form of the deity where the serpent head has entirely disappeared,
is easily imagined. Unfortunately the aspedt of Quetzalcoatl as creator may not be
claimed as the original form of the serpent-god of fertility, for he is assuredly a con-
temporary of Uga-jin, while both are linked without question but in a way that at
present escapes us, with the mysterious serpent-god of fertility of the Near East.

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