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 space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...
located in
Karatsu
is a city located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Its name, formed from the Japanese word roots 唐 ''kara'' (China, or continental East Asia in general), and 津 ''tsu'' (port), signifies its historical importance as a ...
,
Saga prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasa ...
,
Japan. The shrine is at the base of () in
Genkai Quasi-National Park. It is now called Matsura Sōchinshu Kagami-jinja (松浦総鎮守鏡神社), and formerly known as the name of Kagami no mikoto Byōgū (鏡尊廟宮), Kagami-gū (鏡宮), Matsuura-gū (松浦宮), Itabitsu-sha (板櫃社) and Kuri Daimyōjin (久里大明神).
Kagami-jinja was the head shrine of
Matsura County in the former
Hizen Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of the Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō. It did not incl ...
and is classified historically as a "Sosha".
The shrine has a small museum preserving remaining artifacts, including an image of Yōryū Kannon from
Goryeo
Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...
Dynasty of
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
in 1310, now kept at the
Saga Prefectural Museum, is the
Cultural Properties of Japan
A is administered by the Government of Japan, Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), and includes Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan, tangible properties (structures ...
.
History
According to legend,
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 ...
climbed atop of the Mount Kagami during the legendary military invasion of Korea in the 3rd century. She put a mirror aside the mountain tops and praying for victory. After that this mirror gave off a ghost light, she was enshrined her own spirit when she heard to hear that tells a story. After she returned to Japan, she suffered the pain of labor in the land. The villagers gave a freshwater spring to her. She recovered her illness, and it was said that she had given birth to the
Emperor Ōjin in
Umi
Umi or UMI may refer to: Geography
* Umi, Iran, a village in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran
* Umi, Fukuoka, a town in Japan People
* Umi-a-Liloa, king of the island of Hawaii
*Umi Dachlan, Indonesian female artist
* Umi Garrett, American female pi ...
now part of modern
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...
.
The ''Ni-no-miya'', or secondary shrine, is dedicated to
Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include:
; Families
* The Fujiwara clan and its members
** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...
, the imperial prince and the eldest son of
Fujiwara no Umakai
was a Japanese statesman, courtier, general and politician during the Nara period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Umakai" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' (1915). The third son of Fujiwara no Fuhito, he founded the Shikike ( ...
. Hirotsugu petitioned for the removal of
Genbō
was a Japanese scholar-monk and bureaucrat of the Imperial Court at Nara. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Gembō" in . He is best known as a leader of the Hossō sect of Buddhism and as the adversary of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu.
Career
In 7 ...
; and then
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 ...
and Genbō used this complaint as a
pretext A pretext (adj: pretextual) is an excuse to do something or say something that is not accurate. Pretexts may be based on a half-truth or developed in the context of a misleading fabrication. Pretexts have been used to conceal the true purpose or rat ...
to discredit Hirotsugu. As a result, Hirotsugu initiates a futile
military campaign in September 740. The shrine was built in 750 by Kibi who was exiled to
Dazaifu on the island of
Kyushu, ten years after the execution of Hirotsugu. At the time of Genbō's death, it was popularly believed that he was killed by the
vengeful spirit
In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crem ...
of Hirotsugu.
It was originally called Matsuura-gū or Matsuura-byōgū (松浦廟宮), but
Kūkai
Kūkai (; 27 July 774 – 22 April 835Kūkai was born in 774, the 5th year of the Hōki era; his exact date of birth was designated as the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, some 400 years later, by the Shingon se ...
has changed its name to Kagami-jinja.
In the Tamakazura (玉鬘) chapter of
The Tale of Genji, the song of the mirror god of Matsuura (松浦なる鏡の神 ''Matsuura naru Kagami no Kami'') written by Tayunogen (大夫監), a powerful family in
Higo Province.
Gallery
File:Kagami-jinja Ni-no-miya.jpg, Second main hall of Kagami Jinja.
File:Tanka Monument of The Tale of Genji in Kagami-jinja.jpg, A Tanka monument of the Tale of Genji in the precinct.
See also
*
List of Shinto shrines
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kagami Jinja
Shinto shrines in Saga Prefecture
Sōja shrines