is a

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

in the Chūō Ward of

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

, Japan, and is possibly among the oldest shrines in the country.

History

According to '' Nihon Shoki'', it was founded by the

Empress Jingū was a legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her husband's death in 200 AD. Both the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Jingū's alleged lifetime. Leg ...

at the beginning of the 3rd century AD to enshrine the ''

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 ...

'' Wakahirume. It was one of three shrines established at this time; the others are Hirota Shrine, dedicated to

Amaterasu Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojik ...

, and Nagata Shrine, dedicated to Kotoshiro-nushi (also known as Ebisu). During the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself ...

, parts of the

Battle of Ichi-no-Tani was a Taira defensive position at Suma-ku, Kobe, Suma, to the west of present-day Kobe, Japan. It sat on a very narrow strip of shore, between mountains on the north, and the sea to the south. This made it quite defensible, but also made it d ...

took place in and around this shrine, and are commemorated by markers in the Ikuta forest behind the shrine. The shrine's land was much larger back then, before the city of Kobe was built around it. Thus, the precise locations of skirmishes or events can no longer be commemorated on shrine land. Ikuta Jinja Romon2

Festivals and events

Today, two

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

plays, ''Ebira'' and ''

Ikuta Atsumori ''Ikuta Atsumori'' (生田敦盛), sometimes known simply as ''Ikuta'', is one of many Noh plays derived from the story of Taira no Atsumori, a young Taira clan samurai who was killed in the 1184 battle of Ichi-no-Tani. Taking place largely at Iku ...

'', which retell aspects of the

, are performed near the Ikuta Shrine on a regular basis. They are performed every year at Ikuta's .

References

生田神社, (Japanese)

External links

* Beppyo shrines 3rd-century establishments in Japan Shinto shrines in Hyōgo Prefecture Buildings and structures in Kobe Tourist attractions in Kobe 3rd-century religious buildings and structures {{Shinto-stub

History

Festivals and events

See also

References

External links