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 Takamatsu in

Kagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020) and is the smallest prefecture by geographic area at . Kagawa Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the southwest and Tok ...

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'' of former Sanuki Province. The main festivals of the shrine are held annually on May 8 and October 8. It is located approximately 7 km south of downtown Takamatsu. The area has abundant spring water, and the shrine is based on the worship of the god of water and the shrine's inner shrine is built over a spring. The name 'Tamura' is based on locale, and has no relationship with Sakanoue no Tamuramaro like other shrines of the same name in other parts of Japan.

Enshrined ''kami''

The '' kami'' enshrined at Tamura Jinja are: * , the daughter of the 7th Emperor Kōrei, and a '' miko'' known for her divine marriage with Omononushi (the god of Mount Miwa) * , the son of Emperor Kōrei and conqueror of the Kingdom of Kibi. * , leader of the earthly ''kami''. * *

History

The origins of Tamura Jinja are unknown. The monk Gyoki built a shrine over a sacred well in 709 AD; however, it is also recorded that a Buddhist temple was built at this site in that Taihō era (701-704). The temple and shrine were patronized by the Imperial family from an early date. The shrine is mentioned in the " Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku" and '' Engishiki'' records from the early Heian period, and was regarded as the '' ichinomiya'' of the province from this time. It was promoted to Shoichii (Senior First Rank) in 1201, and a tablet with the inscription 'Shoichii Tamura Daimyojin' dated July 1284 survives at the shrine. The shrine was extend¥lively reconstructed by

Hosokawa Katsumoto was one of the Kanrei, the Deputies to the Shōgun, during Japan's Muromachi period. He is famous for his involvement in the creation of Ryōan-ji, a temple famous for its rock garden, and for his involvement in the Ōnin War, which sparked the 1 ...

in 1460. It was destroyed in the wars of the Tenshō era (1573-1592), but reconstructed again under the patronage of the Matsudaira clan, the

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

of Takamatsu Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1679, Ichinomiya-ji was separated from the Tamura Jinja, and the shrine lost its position as a stop on the Shikoku pilgrimage. During the Meiji period era 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 rated as a under the Modern system of ranked Shinto ShrinesPonsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan,'' pp. 125. The shrine is located a 10-minute walk from Ichinomiya Station on the Takamatsu-Kotohira Electric Railroad Kotoden Kotohira Line .

Gallery

File:Tamura-jinja (Takamatsu) ichinotorii.JPG, Ichi-no-Torii File:Tamura-jinja (Takamatsu) torii.JPG, Ni-no-Torii File:Tamura Jinja, Takamatsu 01.JPG, Zuishinmon Gate File:Tamura-jinja (Takamatsu) shoumen.JPG, San-no-Torii File:Tamura-jinja (Takamatsu) haiden.JPG, Haiden File:Tamurazinzyaɨ0.jpg, Honsha, Okudono File:Tamura-jinja (Takamatsu) keidai.JPG, Precincts

References

* Plutschow, Herbe. ''Matsuri: The Festivals of Japan''. RoutledgeCurzon (1996) * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887

External links

Official home page

Notes