Tutelary

guardian; protecting
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Disctioary.com:tutelary
It was the word of the day on Oct 5 on 2006
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Wikipedia:tutelary
A spirit is a god, usually a minor god, who serves as the guardian or watcher over a particular site, person, or nation. Belief in tutelary gods or spirits often reflects a tradition of animism.
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Usage examples:

• Tutelary deities/shrine/spirit/godesses.
  

Tutelary God
Image source: corbis.com.









Tip to remember the word:
In the centrum of Nara, the Kofukuji Temple was tutelary temple of the Fujiwara family.


Nanendo Hall

Nanendo was originally one among many of the buildings at Kofukuji, the tutelary temple of the Fujiwara clan.
Nara is a Japanese city which was once capital of Japan.
Fujiwara family played a dominant role in Japan's politicts for more than 300 years. The Fujiwara dominated the government of Japan 794-1160

Read more about Fujiwara familly.