is a historic

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 Miyauchi neighborhood of the city of

Nan'yō, Yamagata is a city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 31,112 in 11379 households, and a population density of 190 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Nan'yo is located in the norther ...

, in the Tohoku region of northern Japan. It is commonly referred to as the "Kumano Taisha", although the shrine does not officially have a "Taisha" designation. The shrine is one of the three main centers of the Kumano cult within Shinto.

History

The origins of the shrine are uncertain. The shrine claims to have been founded in 806 AD by

Emperor Heizei , also known as ''Heijō-tennō'', was the 51st emperor of Japan,#Kunaichō, Emperor Heizei, Yamamomo Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Heizei's reign las ...

as a branch of the famous

Kumano Sanzan A is a type of Shinto shrine which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi [].Encyclopedia of ShintoKumano Shinkō accessed on October 6, 2008 There are more than 3,000 Kumano shrines in Japan, and each has received its k ...

shrines in Kii Province, and the shrine was associated with the

provincial temple were Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794). History Shōmu (701 – 756?) decreed both a ''kokubun-ji'' for monks and a for nuns to be established in each ...

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early peri ...

. However, an alternative history states that the shrine was built in 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. ...

Taira no Koremori (1158 – 1184) was one of the Taira clan's commanders during the Genpei War of the late Heian period of Japanese history. He was the eldest son of Taira no Shigemori, who was the eldest regent and heir of Taira no Kiyomori. Early life Taira ...

by order of

Emperor Go-Shirakawa was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''ins ...

. In either case, the shrine was patronized by the successive feudal lords of the region, including the

Date clan The is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Date", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 5 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The Date family was founded ...

Mogami clan were Japanese ''daimyōs'', and were a branch of the Ashikaga family. In the Sengoku period, they were the Sengoku ''daimyōs'' who ruled Dewa Province which is now Yamagata Prefecture and part of Akita Prefecture. The Mogami clan is derived ...

and

Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its height, the clan had three main branch ...

. After the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

and the creation 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 ranked as a Prefectural Shrine. Two main features of the shrine are a giant tree which locals believe to be several hundred years old, and a traditional bell. The bell is unique because during World War II, most large iron bells in Japan were melted down for their material. The bell at the shrine was saved by order of the Emperor, and is thus one of the few original preserved bells in Japan. The Kumano-Taisha festival is held at the shrine each year on July 25. Beppyo shrines

External links

* 9th-century Shinto shrines Shinto shrines in Yamagata Prefecture Kumano shrines Nan'yō, Yamagata {{Japan-religious-struct-stub