is a

Shintō , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes ...

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

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. ...

.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). ''Studies in Shinto and Shrines,'' p. 339.

History

Hakozaki Shrine was founded in , with the transfer of the spirit of 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 ...

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 ...

'' from Daibu Hachiman Shrine in what is Honami

Commandry In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

Chikuzen Province was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyūshū, corresponding to part of north and western Fukuoka Prefecture. Chikuzen bordered on Hizen to the east, and Buzen east, and Bungo to the southeast. Its abbreviated form name was (a ...

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

During the first

Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

on November 19, 1274 (''Bun'ei 11, 20th day of the 10th month''), the Japanese defenders were pushed back from the several landing sites. In the ensuing skirmishes, the shrine was burned to the ground. When the shrine was reconstructed, a

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

''Tekikoku kōfuku'' (敵国降伏; surrender of the enemy nation) was put on the tower gate. The calligraphy was written by

Emperor Daigo was the 60th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 醍醐天皇 (60)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Daigo's reign spanned the years from 897 through 930. He is named after his place of burial. Gen ...

, dedicated by Emperor Daijo Kameyama as a supplication to Hachiman to defeat invaders. The shrine is highly ranked among the many shrines in Japan. It was listed in ''Engishiki-jinmyōchō'' (延喜式神名帳) edited in 927. In 11th or 12th century, the shrine was ranked as ''

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 ...

'' (一宮; first shrine) of

. From 1871 to 1946, Hakozaki was officially designated a '' Kanpei-taisha'' (官幣大社), in the first rank of government supported shrines. Other similar

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 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 Usa Shrine 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 ...

Shinto belief

Hakozaki Shrine is dedicated to the veneration of the ''

. This shrine especially venerates the memory of Emperor Ōjin,

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 ...

and Tamayori-bime.Fukuoka/Hakata Tourist Information website
Hakozaki Shrine.
/ref>

Treasures

A number of structures in the shrine complex have been designated as important cultural assets of Japan, including the main hall, the worship hall, tower gate and the main

Torii A is a traditional culture of Japan, Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred, and a spot where kami are welcomed and thought to ...

, ''Ichino-torii''. This torii gate was demolished in 2018, as it became too expensive to repair after pieces started to fall off. It has not been replaced.

Festivals

The annual Tamaseseri Festival (January 3) and the Hojoya Festival (September 12–18) attract many visitors to the shrine.

Shinan Ship

Hakozaki-gu was one of the intended destinations of the cargo that the so-called Shinan ship was to deliver from

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

to Hakata which route was also one of the final sections of the historic

Maritime Silk Route The Maritime Silk Road or Maritime Silk Route is the maritime section of the historic Silk Road that connected Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian Peninsula, eastern Africa, and Europe. It began by the 2nd century BCE ...

. The ship sailed in the 14th century before it sank close to Korean shores due to bad weather conditions. This became apparent after the wreckage was found almost seven hundred years later. On some of the wooden labels or wooden tags(木間) that were used customarily to identify the cargo, the Chinese calligraphy characters of Hakozaki Shrine(筥崎宮) could be clearly read. The main destination of the ship's cargo was Tofuku-ji Temple in Kyoto as a fire caused serious damage and materials for reconstruction as well as replacements for artifacts were needed. Joten-ji Temple in Hakata was also to receive some of the ship's valuable cargo.

Notes

References

* Davis, Paul K. (1999)
''100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present.''
Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. ; * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1962).
''Studies in Shinto and Shrines.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 399449
* Turnbull, Stephen R. (2003)
''Genghis Khan & the Mongol Conquests, 1190-1400.''
London:

Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research and Dovepress. It i ...

External links

*
Hakozaki Shrine website
*
Fukuoka/Hakata Tourist Information website, Hakozaki Shrine
images + video {{Hachiman Faith Kanpei Taisha Beppyo shrines Shinto shrines in Fukuoka Prefecture Buildings and structures in Fukuoka Tourist attractions in Fukuoka Hachiman shrines 921 establishments Religious buildings and structures completed in the 920s Myōjin Taisha Shrines dedicated to Empress Jingū Nagare-zukuri