Originally an Indian deity called Hariti. She is also called "Kariteimo" in Japan, from the sound of her name. ['Karitei' doesn't have a comprehensive meaning, it's used for the reading alone. However, 'mo' is the same as in 'kishimojin', meaning 'mother'.]
Kishimojin was a goddess with 500 children, but she was said to have a wicked nature and to have stolen and eaten human children. In response to the people's complaints, the Buddha hid Kishimojin's youngest child, whom she loved the most, causing her such grief and sorrow that she became a guardian deity of children, eating pomegranates instead of children.
She is depicted holding a child in her bosom and a pomegranate in her right hand and is believed to bring blessings for easy childbirth, child-rearing, and fertility.
Kishimojin was especially popular in the Edo period (1603-1867), and became a deity familiar to the general public, known as "Kishimojin of Fearful Iriya". Although people tend to think that Kishimojin is enshrined at shrines, she is a deity worshipped at temples, as can be seen from the fact that she is mentioned in Buddhist scriptures.
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