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 Miyayama neighborhood of the town of
Samukawa
is a town located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 48,679 and a population density of 3600 persons per km². The total area of the town is .
Geography
Samukawa is located in the flatlands of central Kan ...
,
Kōza District.
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...
,
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
Sagami Province
was a province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu, Musashi, and Suruga. It had access to the Paci ...
. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on September 20. This shrine is one of the most famous shrines around
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, where about 2 million people visit each year.
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 Samukawa Jinja is:
* , an amalgamation of the male and the female
Beppyo shrines
History
The origins of Samukawa Shrine are unknown. Unverifiable shrine legend states that during the reign of
Emperor Yūryaku
(418 - 8 September 479) was the 21st legendary Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 雄略天皇 (21) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order of succession. He is remembered as a patron of sericulture.Nippon ...
(418-479), messengers were sent to this shrine from the imperial court. The earliest written records indicate that the shrine was rebuilt in the year 727, and its name also appears in the ''
Shoku Nihon Kōki
is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 869, it is the fourth volume in the Six National Histories. It covers the years 833–850.
Background
Following the earlier national history ''Nihon Kōki'' (840), in 855 Emperor ...
'' entry for the year 846. By the time of the 923 AD ''
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 ...
'', the shrine is styled as the only shrine in Sagami Province to be a . There is also a mystery regarding 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. The current ''kami'' are given the collective name of "Samukawa Daimyōjin", about whom nothing is known. One theory identifies these ''kami'' as being associated with
Ise Province
was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .
History
The name of Ise appears ...
, as they are also worshipped at the Muyano Shrine, a sub-shrine of the
Ise Grand Shrine
The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and .
The Inn ...
. Another theory identifies them as the children of , who may or may to be the same as
Ōyamatsumi
Ōyama-tsumi or Ohoyama-tsumi (Kojiki: 大山津見神 or Nihon Shoki: 大山祇神, 大山積神, 大山罪神; Ōyama-tsumi-mi'oya-no-mikoto 大山祇御祖命) is a god of mountains, sea, and war in Japanese mythology. He is an elder brother o ...
. It is also possible that these ''kami'' are the ancestors of the Samukawa clan, the Sagami ''
Kuni no miyatsuko , also read as "kokuzō" or "kunitsuko", were officials in ancient Japan at the time of the Yamato court.
Yamato period
Kuni no miyatsuko governed small territories (), although the location, names, and borders of the provinces remain unclear. Kun ...
''. None of these theories are mutually exclusive.
At present, the shrine is located on a low plateau on the left bank of the
Sagami River
The is a river in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa and Yamanashi Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefectures on the island of Honshū, Japan.
The upper reaches of the river in Yamanashi prefecture are also sometimes known as the , and the portion near the ...
, about seven kilometers inland in the central southern part of Kanagawa Prefecture; however, during the
Yayoi period
The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age.
Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...
, it was located on the shore of an inlet of
Sagami Bay
lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the ...
which extended far inland from the present shoreline. The ancient
Tōkaidō highway crossed the Sagami River passed the east side of Samukawa Shrine. In the ''
Azuma Kagami
is a Japanese historical chronicle.
The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in 12 ...
'' of the
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
, Samukawa Shrine is identified as 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 Sagami Province, and there was a dedication ceremony at the shrine on the birth of
Minamoto no Yoriie
was the second ''shōgun'' (1202–1203) of Japan's Kamakura shogunate, and the first son of first shōgun Yoritomo. His Dharma name was Hokke-in-dono Kingo Da'i Zengo (法華院殿金吾大禅閤).
Life
Minamoto no Yoriie was born to Hōjō M ...
. Afterwards, the shrine was patronized by the
Hōjō clan, and in 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 ...
by the
Later Hōjō clan
The was one of the most powerful samurai families in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region. Their last name was simply Hōjō (北条) but in order to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan with the ...
.
Takeda Shingen
, of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.
Shingen was a warlord of great ...
visited the shrine and donated a ''
kabuto
' (兜, 冑) is a type of helmet first used by ancient Japanese warriors which, in later periods, became an important part of the traditional Japanese armour worn by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan.
Note that in the Ja ...
'' helmet and sword to pray for victory when he attacked
Odawara Castle
is a landmark in the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
History
Odawara was a stronghold of the Doi clan during the Kamakura period, and a fortified residence built by their collateral branch, the Kobayakawa clan, stood on the ...
in October 1569.
Following 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 ...
, in 1871 the shrine was designated an under the
Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines
The was an organizational aspect of the establishment of Japanese State Shinto. This system classified Shinto shrines as either official government shrines or "other" shrines. The official shrines were divided into
#Imperial shrines (''kampeisha ...
.
The shrine is a five-minute walk from
Miyayama Station on the
JR East
The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...
Sagami Line
The is a railway line in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It approximately parallels the east bank of the Sagami River. The line connects Hashimoto Station in Sagamihara and Chigasaki Station in ...
.
Gallery
File:寒川神社 神門.JPG,
File:Samukawa Shrine-Shinmon lightup.JPG,
File:Samukawa Shrine gateway.jpg,
File:寒川神社 一の鳥居.JPG,
File:寒川神社 大鳥居.JPG,
Festivals
![Samukawa Shrine 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Samukawa_Shrine_2.jpg)
The main festival of the shrine is held annually on September 20, and features ''
yabusame
is a type of mounted archery in traditional Japanese archery. An archer on a running horse shoots three special "turnip-headed" arrows successively at three wooden targets.
This style of archery has its origins at the beginning of the Kama ...
'' performances. During the
Setsubun
is the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar in Japan. The name literally means 'seasonal division', referring to the day just before the first day of spring in the traditional calendar, known as ; though previously referri ...
festival in February, illuminated paper figures are hung from the main gate in a style similar to that of the
Nebuta in
Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...
.
Related information
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded in 1910 using land from Mount Prospect Park in central Brooklyn, adjacent to Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum. The garden holds ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
has a ''
Mikoshi
A is a sacred religious palanquin (also translated as portable Shinto shrine). Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle to transport a deity in Japan while moving between main shrine and temporary shrine during a festival or when ...
'' donated by Samukawa Shrine.
See also
*
List of Shinto shrines
For lists of Shinto shrines, see:
*List of Shinto shrines in Japan
**List of Shinto shrines in Kyoto
*List of Shinto shrines outside Japan
**List of Shinto shrines in Taiwan
**List of Shinto shrines in the United States
See also
*List of Jingū ...
*
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 ...
Notes
References
* Plutschow, Herbert and P.G. O'Neil. (1996). ''Matsuri: The Festivals of Japan''. London: Routledge. ;
External links
Samukawa-jinjya Shrine Official Website*
{{Authority control
Shinto shrines in Kanagawa Prefecture
Sagami Province
Samukawa
Ichinomiya