is a

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

located in the town of

Hirogawa 270px, Inamura no hi no yakata is a town in Arida District, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 6,778 in 2833 households and a population density of 100 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geogr ...

), Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is dedicated to the '' kami''

Hachiman In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements f ...

. It contains a number of structures which are designated as National Important Cultural Properties. The shrine is also known for its monument to local hero

Hamaguchi Goryō was a village headman in Hiro, Kii Province (current Hirogawa, Wakayama) noted for his role in saving villagers from a tsunami during the 1854 Ansei-Nankai earthquake. In the Meiji period, he became an entrepreneur, the seventh owner of Yamasa ...

, who saved local villagers from a tsunami during the

1854 Ansei-Nankai earthquake The 1854 Nankai earthquake occurred at about 16:00 local time on 24 December. It had a magnitude of 8.4 and caused a damaging tsunami. More than 30,000 buildings were destroyed and there were at least 3,000 casualties. It was the second of the th ...

, as recounted in “A Living God” by

Lafcadio Hearn , born Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (; el, Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χέρν, Patríkios Lefkádios Chérn, Irish language, Irish: Pádraig Lafcadio O'hEarain), was an Irish people, Irish-Greeks, Greek-Japanese people, Japanese writer, t ...

in his ''Gleanings in Buddha Fields'' (1897). This monument with an inscription by

Katsu Kaishu Katsu may refer to: Entertainment * Katsu (band), from Central Pennsylvania * KATSU!, manga by Mitsuru Adachi *" Katsu!" ( ja), a 1984 song by Shibugakitai *Katsucon, an annual anime convention in Maryland Other *Katsu (Zen), a shout used in East ...

and calligraphy Iwaya Ichiroku, was designated a National Historic Site in 2015.

History

The history of this shrine is not well documented. Per the ''Kii-Zoku-Fudok'', one of the

ancient records Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history c ...

of Kii Province,the shrine was originally built in

Kawachi Province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawachi ...

during the reign of

Emperor Kinmei was the 29th Emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 欽明天皇 (29) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)pp. 34–36 Brown, Delmer. (1979) ''Gukanshō,'' pp. 261– ...

(reigned 539 to 571 AD) and relocated to this location in the Muromachi period. The main shrine is dedicated to the Hachiman triad of ''Hondawake-no-Mikoto'' (

Emperor Ojin An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

), ''Tarashinakatsuhiko-no-Mikoto'' (

Emperor Chuai An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

) and ''Okinagatarashihime-no-Mikoto'' (Emperor Jingu). Three subsidiary shrines are on the grounds, These are the Wakamiya-sha dedicated to ''Ohsagi-no-Mikoto'' (Emperor Nintoku), Kora-sha dedicated to

Takenouchi no Sukune or Takeshiuchi no Sukune was a legendary Japanese hero-statesman of the 1st century, and a Shinto kami. He is recorded in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojiki'' (ca. 712) and the '' Nihon Shoki'' (720). Life Takenouchi no Sukune was ...

and Tenjin-sha dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane. The shrine was destroyed during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's conquest of Kii Province in 1585, and was rebuilt by

Asano Yukinaga was a Japanese samurai and feudal lord of the late Sengoku and early Edo periods. His father served as one of the '' Go-Bugyō'' in the late Azuchi–Momoyama period. Asano Yoshinaga was born at Odani, in the Asai district of Ōmi Province, in ...

after he was assigned he province by Tokugawa Ieyasu. During the rule of the Kii Tokugawa clan, the shrine was supported by Kishū Domain during the Edo period. With the Meiji restoration and the Separation of Shintoism and Buddhism, the various Buddhist-related structures on the grounds of the shrine were destroyed or relocated. These included a Kannon-dō, Shōrō and Tahōtō (which was sent to Mitaki-dera in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

). The shrine retained its ''

rōmon The is one of two types of two-storied gate used in Japan (the other one being the ''nijūmon'', see photo in the gallery below). Even though it was originally developed by Buddhist architecture, it is now used at both Buddhist temples and Shin ...

'' (two storied gate). The shrine's '' dengaku'' and lion dance performances during its autumn festival has been designated Wakayama Prefecture Intangible Cultural Properties.

Cultural Properties

Honden In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a sta ...

, built in 1413, repaired in 1776. National Important Cultural Property (ICP) from 1929 * Haiden, built in 1704, ICP from 1947 *

Rōmon The is one of two types of two-storied gate used in Japan (the other one being the ''nijūmon'', see photo in the gallery below). Even though it was originally developed by Buddhist architecture, it is now used at both Buddhist temples and Shin ...

, built in 1475, ICP from 1947 *Kora shrine Honden, built in 1502, ICP from 1929 *Tenjin-sha Honden, built in 1652, ICP from 1947 *Wakamiya Shrine Honden, built in 1493, ICP from 1929

References

External links

Official home page
{{Authority control Shinto shrines in Wakayama Prefecture Hachiman shrines Hirogawa, Wakayama Historic Sites of Japan Kii Province

History

Cultural Properties

See also

References

External links