(also known as , , or Konpira Shrine in English) 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 town of

Kotohira is a town located in Nakatado District, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 8,105 in 3618 households and a population density of 960 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . The town is best known as t ...

in Kagawa, Japan. This shrine is patron of sea

ship transport Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it provi ...

and

sailors A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

. It is a

Kotohira Shrine is a town located in Nakatado District, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 8,105 in 3618 households and a population density of 960 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . The town is best known as t ...

or one dedicated to

Ōmononushi Ōmononushi (; Historical kana orthography, historical orthography: ''Ohomononushi'') is a ''kami'' in Japanese mythology associated with Mount Miwa (also known as Mount Mimoro) in Sakurai, Nara, Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. He is closely linked in ...

. It is the head of a network with 683 shrines in it.Nationwide numbers of Emanation Branches(bunsha) of Famous Shrine
, from "Shamei Bunpu (Shrine Names and Distributions)" Located at halfway up Mount Zōzu, the shrine stands at the end of a long path, with 785 steps to reach the main shrine and a total of 1368 steps to the inner shrine. Since the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

, pilgrimages to the shrine became popular, and even today usually hundreds of visitors in a day climb the steps of Mount Zōzu. On the way to the shrine is a

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

museum, stores, and stones with the names of donors carved in

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

. The shrine sells a

yuzu Yuzu (''Citrus'' × ''junos'', from Japanese language, Japanese or ; ) is a citrus fruit and plant in the family Rutaceae of China, Chinese origin. Yuzu has been cultivated mainly in East Asia, though it has also recently been grown in New Z ...

-flavored

hard candy A hard candy (American English), or boiled sweet (British English), is a sugar candy prepared from one or more sugar-based syrups that is heated to a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) to make candy. Among the many hard candy varieti ...

called kamiyo ame. Visitors break the candy with a small hammer to share pieces (and good fortune) with those who are not able to manage the difficult climb. Before the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

, Kotohira Shrine was also a Buddhist site as well (see ''

honji suijaku The term in Japanese religious terminology refers to a theory widely accepted until the Meiji period according to which Indian Buddhist deities choose to appear in Japan as native ''kami'' to more easily convert and save the Japanese.Breen and Te ...

'').

History

It is said to have been founded during the 1st century. The principal ''

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 ...

'' of the shrine is Ō-mono-nushi-no-mikoto, a spirit associated with seafaring (also referred to as the Buddhist deity Konpira). In 1165 the spirit of

Emperor Sutoku was the 75th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 崇徳天皇 (75)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Sutoku's reign spanned the years from 1123 through 1142. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chr ...

was also enshrined. Before the

, it was known as , and it stood at the head of the nationwide group of shrines bearing the names, Kompira and Kotohira. The

ema Ema or EMA may refer to: Biology and medicine * Anti-Endomysial Antibodies test * Epithelial membrane antigen * European Medicines Agency, a European Union agency for the evaluation of medicinal products * European Medical Association, associa ...

hall is the site for offering prayers for safe seafaring. The Konpira temple was transformed into a Shinto shrine and renamed Kotohira in 1889. From 1871 through 1946, Kotohira was officially designated one of the , meaning that it stood in the mid-range of ranked, nationally significant shrines. On June 5, 2020, Kotohira Shrine sent a notice to the

Association of Shinto Shrines The is a religious administrative organisation that oversees about 80,000 Shinto shrines in Japan. These shrines take the Ise Grand Shrine as the foundation of their belief. It is the largest Shrine Shinto organization in existence. Description ...

stating that it would abolish its inclusive relationship, due to the fact that the ''heihaku'' to be delivered on the day of the Daijō-sai accompanying the enthronement of

the Emperor ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

in the first year of

Reiwa is the current and 232nd era of the official calendar of Japan. It began on 1 May 2019, the day on which Emperor Akihito's eldest son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. The day before, Emperor Akihito abdicated ...

(2019) was not sent. In November 2020, the withdrawal from the Association was approved and it became a standalone shrine.

Matsuo-ji

Matsuo-ji is a temple located nearby that used to run Kotohira-gu. It is affiliated with the Koyasan Shingon sect. It was founded by

En no Gyōja was a Japanese ascetic and mystic, traditionally held to be the founder of Shugendō, the path of ascetic training practiced by the ''gyōja'' or ''yamabushi''. He was banished by the Imperial Court to Izu Ōshima on June 26, 699, but folk t ...

when he had a vision of

Konpira Gongen Konpira Gongen (金毘羅権現) is a Japanese god of the Shugendō sect originating in the mountain Kotohira of Kagawa Prefecture. He is the god of merchant sailors. He is worshipped at According to legend came into existence when a priest ...

at the site.

Treasures

Kompira Shrine has several Important Cultural Properties, including a

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

statue of the eleven-faced Kannon Bosatsu and four ink paintings by

Maruyama Ōkyo , born Maruyama Masataka, was a Japanese artist active in the late 18th century. He moved to Kyoto, during which he studied artworks from Chinese, Japanese and Western sources. A personal style of Western naturalism mixed with Eastern de ...

Gallery

File:Kotohira-gu04n4500.jpg, ''Hongū'' (main shrine) complex File:Kotohira-gu21n4500.jpg, ''

Honden In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a sta ...

'' of the ''hongū'' File:Kotohira-gu07n4500.jpg, Mihotsu Jinja's '' haiden'' of the ''hongū'' File:Kotohira-gu20n4350.jpg, '' Kaguraden'' of the hongū File:Asahi-sha Kotohira-gu01s5s3999.jpg, Asahi-sha File:Homotsukan Kotohira-gu01n4592.jpg, Homotsukan museum File:Kompira Shrine Votive Box, c. 1800-1894.jpg, Kompira Shrine Votive Box, c. 1800–1894, from the Oxford College Archives of

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

Notes

External links

Kotohira-gū official website

* Shinto shrines in Kagawa Prefecture Emperor Sutoku Shinbutsu bunri Former Beppyo shrines Kokuhei Chūsha Buildings in Kotohira Town History of Kotohira Town Kotohira shrines {{Shinto-shrine-stub