Question: About the eight great kings,1 1) especially the affinity of the dragon deities that were confined to the seas around Japan; 2) their present activities; and 3) the meaning of your poem, “Yatariotome / Became one divine spirit / And descended / To this earth plane / As the deity Izunome.” (Yatariotome tada hitokashira no kamumitama to narase kono do ni izunome no kami.);2 4) the question of whether some deity been enshrined in the Naruto Straits.

Answer: The eight great kings are Japanese deities so they have been enshrined in the seas around Japan, waiting for the right time. Previously, they had considered attaining buddha rank and so they went to India, but the activity of the Buddha did not suit them so they returned to Japan to wait for the end of the Buddhist law and were enshrined in the seas around Japan. This can be demonstrated in other actions and events. They are now active as human beings. Most of them are in the Japan Kannon Church.

Yatariotome really forms nine different divine beings, nine great kings. One of those divine beings is Izunome. This deity and I have a deep affinity and is always protecting me. In the past, the deity has possessed me and informed me of various matters. This golden dragon lay waiting in Lake Biwa and is also the god of Kusashi Shrine at the second station of Mount Fuji. Even in spirit, we can see the spirit and body distinction. The spirit of this golden dragon is Kono-hana-sakuya-hime-no-mikoto of Mount Fuji and the body is Lake Biwa. On April 21 1929, this deity left Lake Biwa and ascended to heaven. Reports in the newspapers at the time told of violent winds and great deluges. Forty-seven boats were sunk. As to a deity in the Naruto Straits, there is no deity there. The deity of the ocean is called Koto-hirawake-no-mikoto and this deity protects the oceans. This is the deity popularly known as Konpira-sama.