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 ...

located in the city of

Inazawa is a Cities of Japan, city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 135,580 in 54,999 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city was . Geography Inazawa is located in the flatlands o ...

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

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 ...

. It was the ''

sōja file:Bitchu Kokubunji, zenkei.jpg, 270px, Bitchū Kokubun-ji is a Cities of Japan, city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 69,428 and a population density of 330 persons per km2. The total area of the ...

'' of

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces w ...

. The main ''

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 ...

'' enshrined is

Ōkuninushi Ōkuninushi (; historical orthography: , ), also known as Ō(a)namuchi (''Oho(a)namuchi'') or Ō(a)namochi (''Oho(a)namochi'') among other variants, is a ''kami'' in Japanese mythology. He is one of the central deities in the cycle of myths re ...

. The shrine's main festival is held annually on May 6. Due to its location near the site of 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 ...

provincial capital A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encomp ...

of Owari Province, it is also called the or

History

The original construction of this shrine is unknown. Although nominally dedicated to Ōkuninushi, this affiliation is uncertain, and the shrine asserts that it is dedicated to the tutelary spirits of the ancestors of the people of Owari. It became the ''sōja'' of Owari during the Nara period, and is mentioned in the

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 ...

Engishiki The is a Japanese book of laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178. History Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of the ''Engishi ...

'' records. During the pre-World War II

Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philos ...

, the shrine was ranked as a National Shrine, 3rd rank . Two of the shrine's structures have been designated national Important Cultural Properties: * ''

Rōmon The is one of two types of two-storied gates used in Japan (the other one being the '' nijūmon'', see photo in the gallery below). Even though it was originally developed by Buddhist architecture, it is now used at both Buddhist temples and S ...

'', built in early

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 ...

* ''Heiden'', built in the early

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

File:Konomiya2.JPG, Torii and entry File:Konomiya3.JPG, Gate (ICP) File:Kounomiya-hadakamaturi.jpg, Hadaka Matsuri

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Shinto shrines in Aichi Prefecture Owari Province Buildings and structures in Inazawa Beppyo shrines Kokuhei Shōsha Sōja shrines Shikinai Shosha Important Cultural Properties of Aichi Prefecture Prefecturally designated intangible folk cultural property Owari-zukuri

History

See also

References

External links