also: どじん
noun
earth god; earth deity
A deity or spirit of the earth or land, often associated with local tutelary gods in Shinto or folk belief.
村の入り口に土神を祀った小さな祠がある。
At the entrance of the village, there is a small shrine dedicated to the earth god.
この地方では、田植えの前に土神に祈りを捧げる習慣が残っている。
In this region, the custom of offering prayers to the earth deity before rice planting remains.
Compound of 土 (tsuchi, 'earth') + 神 (kami, 'god'), with rendaku voicing. The reading どじん is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi reading of the same characters.