, also known as , is a

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

in the city of Usa in

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,081,646 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, K ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Emperor Ojin, who was deified as

Hachiman In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements f ...

-jin (the tutelary god of warriors), is said to be enshrined in all the sites dedicated to him; and the first and earliest of these was at Usa in the early 8th century.

Japan National Tourist Organization The , JNTO, provides information about Japan to promote travel to and in the country. It was established in 1964 and its headquarters are in Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. The JNTO operates Tourist Information Centers (TICs) as well as a website. ...

(

JNTO The , JNTO, provides information about Japan to promote travel to and in the country. It was established in 1964 and its headquarters are in Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. The JNTO operates Tourist Information Centers (TICs) as well as a website. I ...

)
Usa-jingū shrine
/ref> The Usa Jingū has long been the recipient of Imperial patronage; and its prestige is considered second only to that of Ise. Hardacre, Helen. (1989)
''Shinto and the State, 1868-1988,'' p. 12.
/ref>

History

The shrine was founded in Kyushu during the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

. Ancient records place the foundation of Usa Jingū in the Wadō era (708–714).Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). ''Studies in Shinto and Shrines,'' p. 195. A temple called Miroku-ji (弥勒寺) was built next to it in 779, making it what is believed to be the first shrine-temple ('' jingū-ji'') ever. The resulting mixed complex, called , lasted over a millennium until 1868, when the Buddhist part was removed to comply with the Kami and Buddhas Separation Act. Part of the remains of Miroku-ji can still be found within the grounds of Usa Jingū. In connection with Miroku-ji, many

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

temples were established across the Kunisaki Peninsula forming '' Rokugō Manzan'' (六郷満山). The resulting culture is said to be the first to have practiced ''

shinbutsu-shūgō ''Shinbutsu-shūgō'' (, "syncretism of kami and buddhas"), also called ''Shinbutsu-konkō'' (, "jumbling up" or "contamination of kami and buddhas"), is the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, Buddhism that was Japan's main organized rel ...

'' (神仏習合), or the

syncretism Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

. For this reason, Usa Jingū and the ''Rokugō Manzan'' temples are considered to be the birthplace of ''shinbutsu-shūgō''. Usa Jingū is today the center from which over 40,000 branch

Hachiman shrine A is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the ''kami'' Hachiman. It is the second most numerous type of Shinto shrine after those dedicated to Inari Ōkami (see Inari shrine). There are about 44,000 Hachiman shrines. Originally the name 八幡 was rea ...

s have grown. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (

MLIT The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.国土交通省設置法

)
Usa Jinju Shrine
/ref> Usa's Hachiman shrine first appears in the chronicles of Imperial history during the reign of Empress Shōtoku. The empress allegedly had an affair with a Buddhist monk named

Dōkyō was a Japanese monk who rose to power through the favor of Empress Kōken (Empress Shōtoku) and became a ''Daijō-daijin Zenji'', the rank set up for him, and later became a ''Hōō'', the highest rank of the religious world. He served Ryoben ...

. An oracle was said to have proclaimed that the monk should be made emperor; and the ''

kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

at Usa was consulted for verification. The empress died before anything further could develop. In the 16th century, the temple was razed to the ground and repeatedly attacked by the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

-sympathizing lord of

Funai is a Japanese consumer electronics company headquartered in Daitō, Osaka. Currently, it is in liquidation. Apart from producing its own branded electronic products, it was also an OEM providing assembled televisions and video players/recor ...

Ōtomo Yoshishige. The wife of Yoshishige, Ōtomo-Nata Jezebel was the High Priestess alongside Nara Clan and resisted against her former husband's attacks.. Usa Jingū was designated as the chief Shinto shrine (''

ichinomiya is a Japanese language, Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a Provinces of Japan, province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth.''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retr ...

'') for the former

Buzen province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of northeastern Kyūshū, corresponding to part of southeastern Fukuoka Prefecture and northwestern Ōita Prefecture. Buzen bordered on Bungo Province, Bungo to the south, and Chikuzen Pro ...

. From 1871 through 1946, Usa was officially designated one of the , meaning that it stood in the first rank of government-supported shrines. Other similarly honored Hachiman shrines were Iwashimizu Hachimangū of Yawata in

Kyoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Kyoto Prefecture has a population of 2,561,358 () and has a geographic area of . Kyoto Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the northeast, Shiga Prefecture ...

and Hakozaki-gū of

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

Mikoshi

Usa Jingū is considered to be the birthplace of '' mikoshi.'' The earliest recorded use of a ''mikoshi'' was in the 8th century during the

. In 749, the shrine's ''mikoshi'' was used to carry the spirit of Hachiman from Kyushu to

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

, where the deity was to guard construction of the great

Daibutsu or 'giant Buddha' is the Japanese language, Japanese term, often used informally, for large Japanese sculpture, statues of List of Buddhas, Buddha. The oldest is that at Asuka-dera (609) and the best-known is that at Tōdai-ji in Nara, Nara, N ...

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. The construction of the temple was an attempt to imitate Chinese temples from the much-admir ...

. By the 10th century, carrying ''mikoshi'' into the community during shrine festivals had become a conventional practice. Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America
Omikoshi procession

Branch shrines

Over the course of centuries, a vast number of

s have extended the reach of the ''kami'' at Usa: In 859, a branch offshoot was established to spread Hachiman's protective influence over

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

; and this Iwashimizu Hachimangū still draws worshipers and tourists today. In 923, the Hakozaki-gū was established at

as a branch of the Usa Shrine. In 1063,

Tsurugaoka Hachimangū is the most important Shinto shrine in the city of Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is a cultural center of the city of Kamakura and serves as the venue of many of its most important festivals with two museum ...

was established by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi to extend Hachiman's protective influence over

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

; and today this branch shrine attracts more visitors than any other shrine in Japan.

Festivals and events

Hōjō-e festival

Because of its mixed religious ancestry, one of the important festivals at the shrine is the ''Hōjō-e'' ( 放生会), originally a Buddhist ceremony in which captive birds and fish are released. The ceremony, held every autumn, is accompanied by sacred ''

kagura is a type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase , indicating the presence of gods () in the practice. One major function of is , involving a procession-trance process. Usually a female shaman will perfor ...

'' dances meant to commemorate the souls of fish killed by fishermen during the previous year. ''Hōjō-e'', which contains both elements of Buddhism and Shinto and is now performed in many shrines throughout country, first took place at Usa Jingū. The event begins with the eight kilometer carrying of a '' mikoshi'' from Usa Jingū to the banks of the Yorimo River ( 寄藻川). Upon arrival, the ''mikoshi'' is greeted by Buddhist monks from the '' Rokugō Manzan'' temples who chant ''sutras'' to "welcome the deity." This is a clear display of Usa Jingū's historical connection to ''

''. The following day,

mollusks Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The num ...

are released into the river.

Hatsumōde

The shrine attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors on and surrounding

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

for ''

Hatsumōde is one of the major Japanese traditions of the new year, which is the first visit to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine visit of the Japanese New Year. Typically taking place on the first, second, or third day of the year, it is meant to bring a ...

'' (初詣), or the first shrine visit of the new year. Many events including ''

'' performances are held on these days.

Goshinkosai

''Goshinkosai'' (御神幸祭), or "Great Summer Festival", is a

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

at Usa Jingū which includes a '' yabusame'' (流鏑馬) ritual, which involves

mounted archery Mounted archery is a form of archery that involves shooting arrows while on horseback. A horse archer is a person who does mounted archery. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals. In large open areas, mounted ...

, a

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

display, and the carrying of three ''

'' ( Hachiman-no-Okami, Hime-no-Okami, and

Empress Jingū was a Legend, legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her Emperor Chūai, husband's death in 200 AD. Both the and the (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Jingū's alleged lifetime. Legen ...

) in their respective '' mikoshi''.

Architecture

The main hall and the Kujaku Monkei are designated amongst Japan's National Treasures. The structures which comprise the current shrine complex were built in the middle of the 19th century. Their characteristic configuration, called '' Hachiman-zukuri'', consists of two parallel structures with gabled roofs interconnected on the non-gabled side to form what internally is a single building. Seen from the outside, however, the complex still gives the impression of being two separate buildings.JAANUS
Hachiman-zukuri
accessed on December 1, 2009 The structure in front is called the ''ge-in,'' which is where the deity is said to reside during the daytime. The structure in the rear is called the ''nai-in,'' which serves as the deity's sleeping chamber during the night. The vermillion-painted Kurehashi Bridge ( 呉橋) at the shrine's west approach is designated as an Important Tangible Cultural Property by Ōita Prefecture."Kurehashi Bridge"
Usa City. Retrieved 6 June 2024 When the original bridge was built is not known, but it already existed in the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

. The current bridge was built in 1622 by Hosokawa Tadatoshi, then the lord of the

Kokura Domain 270px, Ogasawara Tadanobu, final daimyo of Kokura Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now eastern Fukuoka Prefecture. It was centered around Kokura Castle in what is now Kitakyushu, Fukuoka ...

Worship style

The worship style at Usa Jingū differs from that of other shrines. After putting a coin in the '' saisen'' box (賽銭箱, ''saisen-bako''), it is correct etiquette to bow twice, clap four times (rather than the usual two claps), then bow once.

Access

The Daiko Hokubu Bus (大交北部バス) from Usa Station (

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Nippō Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, in southern Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Also known as the Fukuhoku Nippo Line, The line connects Kokura Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, K ...

) bound for Yokkaichi or Nakatsu stops at Usa Hachiman bus stop in front of Usa Jingū. There are four round-trip buses per day from Oita Airport to Usa Jingū. In 2013, a slope car was installed to assist elderly and wheelchair-bound visitors in reaching the Upper Shrine. The former Usa Sangū Line ( 大分交通宇佐参宮線) once connected Bungotakada to the former Usa Hachiman Railway Station ( 宇佐八幡駅) at Usa Jingū. This train line was closed in 1965 at which point the station at Usa Jingū was demolished and turned into a parking lot. The

Steam Locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

Krauss No. 26, which once ran on the Usa Sangū Line, has been preserved and can be seen near the parking lot and main approach of Usa Jingū. "Usa Hachiman Railway Station"
Retrieved 6 June 2024

References

Citations

Sources

* Bender, Ross. "The Hachiman Cult and the Dōkyō Incident," ''Monumenta Nipponica.'' 24 (Summer 1979): 124. * Hardacre, Helen. (1989)
''Shinto and the State, 1868-1988.''
Princeton:

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

.
OCLC 19067219
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962)
''Studies in Shinto and Shrines.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 3994492
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)
''Annales des empereurs du japon''
('' Nipon o daï itsi ran''). Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. * .

External links

Usa Shrine
JAPAN : the Official Guide

Kanpei Taisha Jingū 8th-century Shinto shrines Shinto shrines in Ōita Prefecture National Treasures of Japan Shinbutsu shūgō 8th-century establishments in Japan Beppyo shrines Hachiman shrines 725 establishments Religious buildings and structures completed in the 720s Myōjin Taisha Chokusaisha Shrines dedicated to Empress Jingū Oita Prefecture designated tangible cultural property Hachiman-zukuri {{Hachiman Faith