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 Ichinomiya neighborhood of the city of

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefectur ...

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

Bizen Province was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of Honshū, in what is today the southeastern part of Okayama Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Bitchū and Bingo Provinces. Bizen borders Mimasaka, Harima, and Bitchū Provinces. Bizen ...

. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on the third weekend of October. Theshrine is also known in literature as the .

Enshrined ''kami''

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 ...

'' enshrined at Kibitsuhiko Jinja are: * , the son of

Emperor Kōrei , also known as was the seventh legendary emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Kōrei is known as a ...

and conqueror of the

Kingdom of Kibi was a kingdom of fourth century Western Japan. The Kingdom of Kibi covered most of what is today Okayama Prefecture. Today, the Kibi Road crosses the plain between Okayama and Soja, what was once the heartland of ''Kibi no kuni''. Etymology In mo ...

* , younger brother or son of Kibitsuhiko * * * * * , brother of Kibitsuhiko * * , elder sister of Kibitsuhiko * , younger sister of Kibitsuhiko * , elder sister of Kibitsuhiko *

History

The origins of Kibitsuhiko Jinja are uncertain. According to the shrine's legend', it was during the reign of

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 推古天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628. In the history of Japan ...

, and was the site of Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto's residence; but the shrine does not appear in any historical documentation until the late

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. ...

. It is not listed in the early

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 ...

'' and instead Ani Jinja was given the rank of and the rank of ''

'' of the province. However, Ani Jinja sided with

Fujiwara no Sumitomo was a Japanese Heian era court noble and warrior. From 939 to 941 he aided the Taira clan in a series of revolts. Sumitomo built his power base in Northern Kyushu. After making a secret agreement with Taira no Masakado, who was leading a revolt ...

in his revolt from 939 to 941 and was thus demoted. On the other hand,

Kibitsu Shrine is a Shinto shrine in the Kibitsu neighborhood of Kita-ku, Okayama in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. It is the ''ichinomiya'' of former Bitchū Province. The main festivals of the shrine is held annually on the second Sunday of May and on October 1 ...

, the parent shrine of the Kibitsuhiko Jinja wrote prayers for the victory of imperial forces over Fujiwara no Sumitomo, and was thus rewarded by having their branch shrine in Bizen raised to become the ''ichinomiya''. During the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

, the shrine was burned down by the

Matsuda clan is a Japanese family tracing its origins to Bizen Province, and heirs of Fujiwara no Hidesato. Notable members of the clan include: Matsuda Mototaka. The Matsuda clan was a clan of the Hatano family, Fujiwara no Hidesato house, originated i ...

, but was restored with the support of

Ukita Naoie was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. He was born in Bizen Province, to Ukita Okiie, a local samurai leader and head of the Ukita clan. Biography Naoie's grandfather Yoshiie was killed by Shimamura clan in 1534, Naoie narrowly es ...

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

prayed here for victory prior to his attack on Takamatsu Castle. In 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 ...

Ikeda Toshitaka Ikeda may refer to: * Ikeda (surname), a Japanese surname * Ikeda (comics), a character in ''Usagi Yojimbo'' * Ikeda clan, a Japanese clan * Ikeda map, chaotic attractor * ''Ikeda'' (annelid) a genus of the family Ikedidae Places * Ikeda, Osaka i ...

, the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of

Himeji Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Harima Province in what is now the southern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Himeji Castle, which is located in what is now the ...

and the lord of

Okayama Castle is a Japanese castle in the city of Okayama in Okayama Prefecture in Japan. The main tower was completed in 1597, destroyed in 1945 and replicated in concrete in 1966. Two of the watch towers survived the bombing of 1945 and are now listed by ...

, rebuilt the shrine, and successive rulers of

Okayama Domain The was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Bizen Province in modern-day Okayama Prefecture.">DF_18_of_80">"Ikeda"_at_''Nobiliare_du_Japon'',_p._14_ DF_18_of_80/nowiki>_retrieved_2013-4-25. # .html"_;"title="DF_18_of_8 ...

sponsored various repairs and reconstructions. After the Meiji Restoration, the shrine was listed as a Prefecture Shrine, and was promoted to a in 1928.In December 1930, the main shrine and most other structures (with the exception of the Zuijinmon Gate) burned down due to accident. The shrine buildings that can be seen today were completed in 1936. The shrine is a three-minute walk from Bizen-Ichinomiya Station on the JR West Kibi Line.

Cultural Properties

*Tachi Japanese sword. Edo Period, National Important Cultural Property (Japan), Important Cultural Property. Signed by Ikeda Shinkai and dated 1678, this sword was donation to the shrine by

Ikeda Tsunamasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Edo period. He was the head of the Okayama Domain.Edmond_Papinot.html" ;"title="DF_18_of_80/nowiki>_retrieved_2013-4-25. # .html"_;"title="DF_18_of_8 ....Edmond Papinot">Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ...

, It is now kept at the Okayama Prefectural Museum.

Gallery

Kibitsuhiko jinja -01.jpg, Panorama File:Kibitsuhiko-jinja honden.JPG, Honden（Okayama P.ICP） File:Kibitsuhiko-jinja haiden.JPG, Haiden File:Kibitsuhiko-jinja zuishinmon.JPG, Zuishin-mon（Okayama C.ICP） File:Kibitsuhiko Jinja 07.JPG, Stone tōrō lantern（Okayama C.ICP） File:Kibitsuhiko-jinja Heian-sugi.JPG, Peace Sugi File:Kibitsuhiko-jinja torii.JPG, Torii File:Kibitsuhiko-jinja sandou.JPG, Approach

References

External links