is a Shinto shrine located in the town of

Taga Taga may refer to: Places ;Japan * Taga District, Ibaraki, Ibaraki Prefecture * Hitachi-Taga Station in Ibaraki Prefecture * Yamashiro-Taga Station in Kyoto Prefecture * Taga, Shiga in Shiga Prefecture *Taga-taisha, a Shinto shrine in Shiga Prefec ...

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 ...

. The shrine is frequently referred to as by local residents. The gardens of the inner '' shoin'', which date to the Momoyama period are a nationally designated

Place of Scenic Beauty is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of JapanIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural ...

, whereas the mid- Edo period ''Shoin'' itself is a Shiga Prefectural Important Cultural Property.

Main ''kami''

Izanagi Izanagi (イザナギ/伊邪那岐/伊弉諾) or Izanaki (イザナキ), formally known as , is the creator deity (''kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can b ...

* Izanami Beppyo shrines

History

The foundation of Taga Taisha is unknown. It is mentioned in the ancient ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' and '' Nihon Shoki'' chronicles from 712 AD. The shrine's legend connects it with the legendary hero Yamato Takeru, whose son,

Inugami no Mitasuki Inugami no Mitasuki (Japanese: 犬上御田鍬) was a Japanese diplomat and Imperial court official in the Asuka period. He is best known for his role in the Japanese missions to Sui China. His ''kabane'' title is ''Kimi'' and ''kan'i'' rank is ...

was sent as an emissary to Sui China in 614 AD and the first Japanese embassy to Tang China in 630 AD. He was also the ancestor of the Inukami clan, from which

Inukami District, Shiga is a district located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 23,638 and a density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most ...

(where the shrine is located) takes its name. However, in the 914 AD '' Engishiki'' records, it is listed only as a small shrine. From the Heian period it was revered as having efficiency for childbirth, vocational aid, fire extinguishing and longevity. During then Muromachi period, as pilgrimages to the Ise Grand Shrine and the Kumano Sanzan gained in popularity, pilgrims were encouraged to visit Taga Shrine as part of the route. In the Sengoku period, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had a strong faith in this shrine and frequently prayed for an extension of his mother's life. He donated 10,000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

'', or the equivalent revenue of one year for a '' daimyō'' for its reconstruction and upkeep. The shrine was destroyed by a fire in 1615, but was rebuilt immediately by

Shogun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Tokugawa Hidetada and reconstructed in 1633 by Tokugawa Iemitsu. In 1651, Ii Naotaka of Hikone Domain granted it estates of 150 ''

'' for its upkeep. However, much of the shrine was destroyed again by fire in 1733, and by a storm in 1791. Each time, it was rebuilt with the assistance of the Tokugawa shogunate and Hikone Domain. With the establishment 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 ...

following the Meiji restoration, the shrine was designated a prefectural shrine under the Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines in 1871. It was promoted to a in 1885 and to a in 1914. Many of the shrine's buildings are Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Taga Town.

Festivals

*: Most important festival held on April 22. Also known as . *: A festival of planting rice with traditional rites held on June 7. *: A lantern festival held on the night of August 3–5.

Specialty goods

*: A talisman ''shakushi'' (Japanese ladle) from the reign of Empress Genshō. Allegedly the origin of the Japanese word '' otamajakushi''. *: A '' Japanese sweet'' made of '' mochi'' sticky rice sold at souvenir shops around the shrine. ''Itokiri-mochi'' was first made to celebrate the Japanese victory over the Mongols.

Access

The shrine is about a 20 minute walk from

Taga Taisha-mae Station is a passenger railway station in located in the town of Taga, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Ohmi Railway. Lines Taga Taisha-mae Station is the terminus of the Ohmi Railway Taga Line, and is located 2.5 r ...

on the Ohmi Railway Taga Line, or about ten minutes by bus from

Minami-Hikone Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Hikone, Shiga, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Minami-Hikone Station is served by the Biwako Line portion of the Tōkaidō Main Line, and is 9.3 kilome ...

on the JR West Biwako Line.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Shinto shrines in Shiga Prefecture Places of Scenic Beauty Taga, Shiga Ōmi Province