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 ...

in the Chitose neighborhood of the city of

Kameoka is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 87,518 in 29,676 households and a population density of 390 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kameoka abuts Kyoto to the east and is loca ...

in Kyoto Prefecture,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is the ''

ichinomiya is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth. ''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retrieved 2013-5-14. The term gave rise t ...

'' of former

Tanba Province was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima, Wakasa, and Yamashiro Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō system ...

. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on the October 21.

Enshrined ''kami''

The primary ''

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

'' enshrined at Izumo Daijingū are: * * , wife of Ōkuninushi The secondary ''kami'' are: * , third son of Amaterasu * , wife of Ōkuninushi

History

The shrine is located at the foot of Mt. Mikage in the eastern part of the Kameoka Basin, which has been worshipped as a

sacred mountain Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many rel ...

since ancient times. The origins of Izumo daijingū are unknown. Geographically, the area is in between the two ancient powers of Izumo and Yamato, and the Chitose Kurumazuka Kofun to the southwest of the shrine is the largest keyhole-shape

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

in the Tanba region. According to the ''Tanba-koku

Fudoki are ancient reports on provincial culture, geography, and oral tradition presented to the reigning monarchs of Japan, also known as local gazetteers. They contain agricultural, geographical, and historical records as well as mythology and ...

'', in 709 (during the reign of

Empress Genmei , also known as Empress Genmyō, was the 43rd monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 元明天皇 (43) retrieved August 22, 2013. according to the traditional order of succession. Genmei's reign spanned the years 707 throug ...

), a ''

bunrei is a Shinto technical term that indicates both the process of dividing a Shinto ''kami'' to be re-enshrined somewhere else (such as a house's ''kamidana''), and the spirit itself produced by the division. For details, see the article about the si ...

'' of the ''kami'' Ōkuninushi was transferred from this shrine to "the land of Kitsuki". For this reason, this shrine is also referred to as the ("original Izumo"). The far more famous

Izumo Taisha , officially Izumo Ōyashiro, is one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan. No record gives the date of establishment. Located in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, it is home to two major festivals. It is dedicated to the god , fam ...

was called "Kizuki Shrine" until the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, so until the end of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, the "God of Izumo" referred to Izumo Daijingū. The shrine and its rituals are described in both the ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' and the '' Nihon Shoki''. The shrine is mentioned in the "

Nihon Kiryaku is a historical text that categorizes and chronologizes the events listed in the ''Six National Histories is a general term for Japan's Six National Histories chronicling the mythology and history of Japan from the earliest times to 887. The six ...

" and ''

Engishiki The is a Japanese book about laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178. History In 905, Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of the ...

'' records from the early

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

, and was regarded as the ''

'' of the province from this time. In 1292, its ranking rose to the highest rank due to success of prayers for rain at this shrine. The "Izumo Shrine" mentioned by

Yoshida Kenko Yoshida (written: 吉田 lit. "lucky ricefield") is the 11th most common Japanese surname. A less common variant is 芳田 (lit. "fragrant ricefield"). Notable people with the surname include: * Ai Yoshida, Japanese sailor *, Japanese idol, singe ...

in the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

Tsurezuregusa is a collection of essays written by the Japanese monk Kenkō (兼好) between 1330 and 1332. The work is widely considered a gem of medieval Japanese literature and one of the three representative works of the zuihitsu genre, along with ''The P ...

'' (Chapter 236) refers to this shrine. The shrine was extensively reconstructed by

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...

in 1345. During the

era of

State Shinto was Imperial Japan's ideological use of the Japanese folk religion and traditions of Shinto. The state exercised control of shrine finances and training regimes for priests to strongly encourage Shinto practices that emphasized the Emperor as ...

, the shrine was rated as a under the

Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines The was an organizational aspect of the establishment of Japanese State Shinto. This system classified Shinto shrines as either official government shrines or "other" shrines. The official shrines were divided into #Imperial shrines (''kampeisha ...

.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan,'' pp. 125. The shrine is located a 10-minute walk from either

Kameoka Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Kameoka, Kyoto, Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Kameoka Station is served by the San'in Main Line (Sagano Line), and is located 20. ...

Chiyokawa Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Chiyokawa Station is served by the San'in Main Line (Sagano Line), and is located from the termi ...

Cultural Properties

National Important 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 ...

, early

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 ...

, said to have been renovated by

in 1345. It is a ''Sangensha'' style building with a cypress bark shingled roof. * Wooden Statues of male ''kami'',

, set of two. These are seated statues carved from kaya wood, and date from the 9th or 10th century; one possibly depicts Ōkuninushi, the other is of an unknown ''kami''.

Gallery

Izumo-daijingū mikageyama-3.jpg, Mount Mikage Izumo-daijingū honden-4.jpg, Honden (ICP) File:Izumo-daijingū keidai-3.jpg, Precincts File:Izumo-daijingū haiden-3.JPG, Haiden File:Izumo-daijingū torii-2.JPG, Torii

References

* Plutschow, Herbe. ''Matsuri: The Festivals of Japan''. RoutledgeCurzon (1996) * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887

External links

Official home page

Notes

{{Authority control Shinto shrines in Kyoto Prefecture Tanba Province Kameoka, Kyoto Ichinomiya