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

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km². The total area of the city is ...

. It is one of the three main shrines of the

Gion cult is a Shinto cult. Originally it revolved solely around Gozu Tenno, but during the Separation of Shinto and Buddhism of the Meiji era the government mandated it shift to revolving around Susanoo.川村『牛頭天王と蘇民将来伝説—— ...

alongside

Yasaka Shrine Kanpei-taisha , once called , is a Shinto shrine in the Gion District of Kyoto, Japan. Situated at the east end of Shijō-dōri (Fourth Avenue), the shrine includes several buildings, including gates, a main hall and a stage. The Yasaka shrine is ...

, and

Tsushima Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Tsushima, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is the head shrine of a nationwide shrine network of shrines dedicated to the , Centered primarily in the Tōkai region, this network has approximately 3,000 shrines and is the tenth- ...

. Until the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

the shrine was perceived as highly prestigious, on par with Kumano Taisha, but little remains of its past glory. In contrast to other shrines of the

the shrine is associated with agriculture. It has branch shrines such as one in

Obama, Fukui is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 29,435 in 12,057 households and a population density of 240 persons per km2 (327/sq mi). The total area of the city was . Obama gained publicity in the Unit ...

. and many others.

Historical significance

The shrine is between Enokuma Shrine in

Bingo Province was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of western Honshū, comprising what is today the eastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture. It was sometimes grouped together with Bizen and Bitchu Provinces as . The 備 ''bi'' in the names of these p ...

and Gion Shrine in Kyoto. This location helped spread the Gozu Tennō cult eastward. According to the Nijūnisha chūshiki, which was compiled between 1532 and 1573 by

Yoshida Kanetomo was a Japanese Shinto priest of the Sengoku period. He was a seminal figure in the evolution of a coherent descriptive and interpretive schema of Shinto ritual and mythology.Itō Satoshi "Yoshida Kanetomo,"''Encyclopedia of Shinto.'' April 15, 20 ...

, Gozu Tennō first made his presence known at

Akashi Akashi may refer to: People *Akashi (surname) Places *Akashi, Hyōgo *Akashi Station, a Japanese railroad station on the Sanyō Main Line *Akashi Strait *Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, crossing the former *Akashi Castle *Akashi Domain * Akashi, the name ...

Harima province or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji. During the ...

. From there, he shifted to Hiromine, subsequently relocating to Tōkōji in Kitashirakawa, Kyoto. By the Gangyō era (877–885), he had moved to the Kanjin-in of Kankeiji, now known as Gion Shrine.

Kibi no Makibi and the Hiromine tradition

Kibi no Makibi was a Japanese scholar and noble during the Nara period. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Kibi no Makibi"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 512. Also known as . Early life Kibi no Makibi was born in Shimotsumichi County, Bitchu Province (present-d ...

(695–775) founded the Hiromine Shrine. He was an

Onmyōji was one of the official positions belonging to the of the Ministry of the Center under the ritsuryō system in ancient Japan, and was assigned as a technical officer in charge of divination and geomorphology based on the theory of the yin-a ...

in the Chinese royal court and when he returned to Japan he spent a night in Hiromine. In the year 733 . That night, he dreamed that a nobleman appeared to him. He said Kotan refused him hospitality and had found shelter in Somin Shōrai’s house. But since then he had been wandering, and remembering a pact made with Kibi no Makibi in China, he had now come to see him. The role of Kibi no Makibi is significant in this context because he posthumously became the “ancestor” of Onmyōdō and also played an instrumental role in the development of the legend of

Abe no Seimei was an ''onmyōji'', a leading specialist of ''Onmyōdō'' during the middle of the Heian period in Japan.Miller, Laura. "Extreme Makeover for a Heian-era Wizard". ''Mechademia 3: Limits of the Human''. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Pres ...

. Later that year he built the beginnings of the shrine. The next year the main building was built. It was moved to the present location in 972.

Onmyōji influence

In the ninth and tenth centuries, onmyōji, particularly those from Harima province, performed rituals focusing on deities of pestilence. Harima was renowned for onmyōji who operated outside the traditional .

Ashiya Dōman Ashiya Dōman (ja. 蘆屋道満, spelled also 芦屋道満), also known as Dōma Hōshi (道摩法師) was an onmyōji who lived during the Heian period, in the reign of the Emperor Ichijō. The years of birth and death are unknown. Despite being ...

was prominent enough to rival

. The Genko shakushō attributes the Indian ascetic,

Hōdō Sennin Hōdō (法道) or Hōdō Sennin (法道仙人) was an Indian hermit and sage. According to legend, from the 6th to 7th centuries CE, Hōdō traveled from India through China and the Korean kingdom of Baekje and eventually arrived in Japan. He i ...

, with promoting the Hiromine Shrine's cult. As per this legend,

Gozu Tenno is a 2003 Japanese horror comedy crime film directed by Takashi Miike and written by Sakichi Sato. The film blends yakuza stories with ghost stories, bizarre vignettes, and urban legends. Plot Ozaki (Aikawa), a mentally unstable yakuza, kills a ...

appeared to Hōdō Sennin as a protector against misfortunes during his time at Ichijōji on Mount Hokke. In another instance documented in the Saimyōji engi, when Hōdō Sennin was preparing to exorcize a malevolent tree stump, Gozu Tennō manifested as an old man riding a yellow ox and requested the stump. Following Hōdō Sennin's refusal, Gozu Tennō granted him land to establish a temple and further the (Senju) Kannon's cult in

Ōmi province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Ōmi was ranked as one of the 13 "great countrie ...

. Gozu Tennō's is represented as an old man because he represents a

landlord deity Landlord deities (地主神) are a type of tutelary deity worshipped in the East Asian cultural sphere. Di (Chinese concept) is the first character. They are low level deities that are considered below Sheshen and City Gods. When people move i ...

giving land to monks to build a temple. He is also often presented as a god of war.

References

{{Gion cult Beppyo shrines Gion cult Kokushi genzaisha Ken-sha Hyogo Prefecture designated tangible cultural property Gion shrines Himeji, Hyōgo simple:Hiromine Shrine