Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社 ''suwa jinja'') is the major

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, meanin ...

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the Na ...

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 ...

, and home to the

Nagasaki Kunchi , also or , is the most famous festival in Nagasaki, Japan. It began as a celebration of autumn harvests in the late 16th century and became a shrine festival when Suwa Shrine was founded in 1642. Another purpose was to check for hidden Christi ...

(''kunchi'' (くんち) is believed to refer to September 9 (9月9日,くにち) in the dialect of northern Kyushu). It is located in the northern part of the city, on the slopes of Mount Tamazono-san, and features a 277-step stone staircase leading up the mountain to the various buildings that comprise the shrine. Suwa shrine was established as a way of stopping and reverting the conversion to Christianity that was taking place in Nagasaki. In modern times it remains an important and successful center of the community. The shrine in Nagasaki is one of many Suwa shrines, all of which are dedicated to Suwa-no-Kami, a

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 ...

of valor and duty, and are linked with

Suwa Taisha , historically also known as Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社 ''Suwa-jinja'') or , is a group of Shinto shrines in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The shrine complex is the ''ichinomiya'' of former Shinano Province and is considered to be one of the oldest sh ...

, the head shrine of Suwa-no-Kami worship. Two other kami spirits are also enshrined at Suwa shrine, all three of which are celebrated during the Kunchi.

History

The official date of construction for Suwa Shrine is 1614, the same year as Tokugawa Ieyasu's Edict against Christianity, although there was little more than a small structure to mark the position of the future shrine at this time. At that time, Nagasaki was home to the largest Christian population in Japan, and had destroyed many of the former

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 ''Shintoist ...

shrines and

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temple ...

s. The

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia' ...

had taken power and reversed its friendly policy towards Christianity. The government had begun forcing Christians to reconvert to the Japanese religions of Buddhism and Shinto. It was thought that establishing a major point of Shinto worship would be important to these efforts, giving the local population a central point of worship and a sense of community.Nelson, John K., ''A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine, USA, University of Washington Press, 1996, The temporary structure was frequently attacked by resisting Christians, until 1624 when Aoki Kensei came to Nagasaki. His religious zeal and skill at organizing, combined with authority granted by the leading Yoshida Shinto council, led to the completion of the main structure of Suwa Shrine. In order to attract attention and encourage attendance at the new shrine, a dramatic ''yutate-sai'' ritual, where a priest demonstrates his communion with the kami by plunging his hands into boiling water unharmed, was performed. In spite of this, as well as the sumo match that followed, very few people came to watch. In 1634, an edict was issued requiring all people to register at the shrine and be counted. In addition to this, in another attempt to further increase local participation in shrine events, a great autumn festival was held at the shrine. Both of these events were created in the attempt to discover any remaining Christians, who would not be able to participate in the festival or register at the shrine. Anyone who failed to do so was arrested, tortured and possibly executed if they did not renounce their Christian faith. Because Nagasaki was the only place in Japan with an open port, it was considered essential to impress the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...

and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

traders with Japanese culture. In addition to the grand festival, beginning in 1638 major performances of

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ...

were also held at Suwa shrine, at the direct command of the Shōgun. These performances continued until 1856, when a major fire at the shrine destroyed most of the expensive Noh masks and props. From 1871 through 1946, Suwa was officially designated one of the , meaning that it stood in the mid-range of ranked, nationally significant shrines. Suwa Shrine survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. It is thought to have survived intact due to its strategic location in the central part of Mount Tamazono-san's southern flank, although in the aftermath of the bomb local residents were quick to note that while the famous

Urakami Cathedral The Immaculate Conception Cathedral (無原罪の聖母司教座聖堂) also St. Mary's Cathedral, often known as Urakami Cathedral ( ja, 浦上天主堂, translit=Urakami Tenshudō) after its location Urakami, is a Roman Catholic cathedral locat ...

and surrounding Catholic neighborhoods were obliterated, the Shinto shrine still stood. This was considered to be significant by the survivors of the bombing, showing the power of the native Japanese kami as opposed to the imported Christian god. In addition, priests from Suwa Shrine took an active role in the rebuilding of Nagasaki, including consecrating the land and purifying structures that still stood. In 1984, a large-scale reconstruction repaired and modernized the shrine, installing such conveniences as

air conditioner Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

s and glass windows. This reconstruction was controversial, as some felt that modern conveniences had no place at a traditional shrine.

Festivals

Like most

s, every year thousands of people visit Suwa Shrine to pray for peace and prosperity. The Shrine is also the main destination in Nagasaki for events such as

Shichi-Go-San is a traditional Japanese rite of passage and festival day for three- and seven-year-old girls, five-year-old and sometimes three-year-old boys, held annually on November 15 to celebrate the growth and well-being of young children. As it is n ...

and the coming-of-age festival. Suwa Shrine is also the host to many annual festivals. These festivals serve the joint purpose of honoring the kami, providing a sense of community for shrine worshipers, and providing exposure and income for the shrine itself. Some of these festivals are typical to all major Shinto shrines in Japan, but some are unique to Suwa shrine. * Atomic bomb commemorative service - This festival is probably unique in all of Japan, in that it combines elements of Christian, Buddhist and Shinto worship to pray for the 35,000-40,000 people killed by the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. It takes place every year on August 9. * Doll's Festival - Like all of Japan, Suwa Shrine observes the Doll's Festival on March 3. However, since the 1980s the festival has been observed in an unusual way, in that attractive, 20-year-old women are selected to wear the shrine's collection of antique

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

and pose in a live Doll's Day procession. The competition amongst the young women is fierce, and there are far more applicants than positions in the festival. The two most beautiful women are chosen for the key roles of the Emperor and Empress in the procession. This tradition was created largely as a

media event A media event, also known as a pseudo-event, is an event, activity, or experience conducted for the purpose of media publicity. It may also include any event that is covered in the mass media or was hosted largely with the media in mind. In med ...

to promote and advertise Suwa shrine, and every year television crews are invited to broadcast the festival. * Kunchi - The most famous of Suwa Shrine's festivals, this festival began along with the founding of the shrine as a way to both demonstrate its new importance in the community and as a way to hunt for Hidden Christians. Kunchi is held from October 7 to 9 every year and is considered one of the major festivals of

, along with the

Gion Matsuri The is one of the largest and most famous festivals in Japan, taking place annually during the month of July in Kyoto. Many events take place in central Kyoto and at the Yasaka Shrine, the festival's patron shrine, located in Kyoto's famous Gion ...

and Osaka's Tenjin Matsuri. It has been designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Asset. * Yutate-sai - A theatrical ritual, originally performed by

yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese Taoist elements. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or h ...

, a priest demonstrates his communion with the kami by plunging his hands into boiling water unharmed. This ritual was performed on the opening of Suwa shrine, and is continued to be performed to this day. It is very rare at other Shinto shrines.

English language fortunes

Most Shinto shrines sell

Omikuji are random fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Literally "sacred lot", these are usually received by making a small offering and randomly choosing one from a box, hoping for the resulting for ...

, a type of fortune telling that comes on a slip of paper that lists your particular luck at that time. Suwa shrine was the first shrine in Japan to offer Omikuji in English. The fortunes are divided into * Best luck * Average luck * Good luck * Half luck * Partly bad luck * Worst luck * Bad luck but turns good * Luck in the end

Stop lions

Another unique feature of Suwa shrine are the "stop lions". They are two stone-carved

guardian lions Chinese guardian lions, or imperial guardian lions, are a traditional Chinese architectural ornament, but the origins lie deep in much older Indian Buddhist traditions. Typically made of stone, they are also known as stone lions or shishi (). ...

, and tradition holds that if one wishes to stop a behavior, such as

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

, one should tie a piece of paper or string around their front legs and pray for their assistance.

History

Festivals

English language fortunes

Stop lions

References

Further reading