Kengun Shrine (健軍神社) is the oldest traditional shrine in

Kumamoto City is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...

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 one of the 4 shrines of

Aso Shrine is a Shinto Shrine in Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). ''Studies in Shinto and Shrines,'' p. 477; Kotodamaya.com"Aso Jinja" retrieved 2012-10-29. Aso is one of the oldest shrines in Japan. This shrine holds sever ...

group (

, Kohsa Shrine and Kohnoura Shrine).

History

Legend

*According to a legend,

Emperor Keikō , also known as and , was the 12th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Keikō's all ...

ordered ''健緒組命''（''Takeogumino-mikoto''）to conquor enemies who were around Mt. Choraina or Chorainasan (at Mashiki ?). He succeeded and was enshrined. (Local

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 ...

or shrine called ubugamisama might be there) *According to an old document, this shrine was built in the 19th year 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– ...

(欽明天皇 ''Kinmei-tennō'', 509–571), the 29th emperor of Japan. A governor of Higo Province, now

Kumamoto, Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,00 ...

was on his way to

to pray for his country, but heavy snow prevented him from going to Aso. A boy, about 3-years of age, appeared to him and said, "Your faith in Aso God is very deep, and you are going to Aso in spite of heavy snow. You should build a shrine here, since

was busy with the defense of the emperor who is east, while you must defend this place against enemies west, so the name should be Kengun.Pamphlet of the Kengun Shrine, on Dec. 11, 2010

13 kami are enshrined

*The main

is Kengun Ohkami(Take-ogumino-mikoto), who was a related

. The name of kami is 健緒組命 and 健 is also called Ken.　Other

are 健磐龍命,阿蘇都比賣命 and others. They came by

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 ...

from

Satsuma Rebellion

*On February 22, 1877, 1400

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

s decided to side with the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Restoration and beca ...

force in the Kengun Shrine area and formed a Kumamoto Company and they started to fight against the

Kumamoto Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle located in Chūō-ku, Kumamoto, in Kumamoto Prefecture. It was a large and well fortified castle. The is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960, but several ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle ...

. At the

, the

of burnt

Katō Shrine is a shrine in Kumamoto Castle, Chūō-ku, Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan, in which ''daimyō'' or powerful territorial lord Katō Kiyomasa (1562–1611) is enshrined. Alongside Ōki Kaneyoshi and Kin Kan, who made junshi, are enshrined. History *I ...

and

of burnt

Fujisaki Hachimangū is a Shinto shrine located in Chūō-ku, Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan. It is dedicated to Emperor Ōjin, Empress Jingū and Sumiyoshi Sanjin. History In 935, Fujisaki Hachimangu was established with the Bunrei of Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū Kyoto, ...

were transiently relocated at the Kengun Shrine.

Small Shrines and Road to the Shrine

*Amemiya Shrine:Amemiya Ohkami is enshrined. Here a ceremony is held for rainfall. *Miwa Shrine:Ohmononushi-Ohkami and others are enshrined for the prevention and cure of smallpox. People touch a stone there with depressions resembling smallpox scars and will gain some improvement or profit. *Kokuzou Shrine:A relocated shrine due to the construction of the streetcar road. Its origin is not available. *Hiyoshi Shrine:Here they pray for the prevention of fires. A relocated shrine due to the city planning law. *Tensha Shrine:Tensha Ohkami is enshrined. A relocated shrine due to the city planning law. *Hatchou-baba:800 meter-long road to the Shrine. There is a

torii A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simplest ...

at the front.

Cultural Properties of Japan

*Higo

Kagura is a type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase , indicating the presence of gods () in the practice. One major function of is , involving a procession-trance process. Usually a female shaman will perfor ...

or local Shinto theatrical dance: (prefectural properties) *

Cryptomeria ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L ...

road (800 meters long) for horse riding :(city properties) *Kengun Shrine area :(city properties)

References

*Pamphlet of the Kengun Shrine on Dec. 11, 2010.
Kengun Shrine