also: そじん
noun
ancestral deity; deified ancestor
Refers to an ancestor who is worshipped as a god, often in Shinto or folk contexts.
その村では祖神を祀る祭りが毎年行われる。
In that village, a festival to worship the ancestral deity is held every year.
氏神 is a tutelary deity of a clan or local community, not necessarily a direct ancestor, while 祖神 specifically refers to a deified ancestor.
Compound of 祖 (ancestor) and 神 (god, deity). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is used in Shinto and folk religion to refer to ancestors worshipped as deities.