The is located in Arita, Nishimatsuura District,

Saga Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of roughly 780,000 and has a geographic area of . Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefect ...

. The shrine has a

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

archway and other items of porcelain which, at other shrines, are usually made of stone. This

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 ...

shrine was and still is particularly revered by Arita's ceramists. The shrine was founded as Arita Sarayama Sōbyō

Hachimangū 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 ...

() in 1658, and dedicated to

Emperor Ōjin , also known as (alternatively spelled ) or , was the 15th (possibly legendary) Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events t ...

and

Nabeshima Naoshige was a warlord of the Sengoku and early Edo periods and progenitor of the Nabeshima lords of the Saga Domain. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Nabeshima Naoshige"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 680. Naoshige was the second son of . His mothe ...

, the latter known for known for re-settling potters from Korea in the area."Tozan Shrine."
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Retrieved 5 April 2024. In 1871, the shrine was renamed ''Sueyama-Jinja'' (), literally "ceramic mountain shrine"; ''Tōzan'' is an alternative reading of the ''kanji'' for ''Sueyama''. In 1917, a memorial to the semi-legendary potter

Yi Sam-pyeong Kanagae Sanbee () or Yi Sam-pyeong was a Japanese potter who is believed to have moved from Korea. He is often considered the father of Arita ware porcelain, although this narrative is today questioned by historians. He is honored at Sueyama ...

(Kanagae Sambee) was built on a hill overlooking the town of Arita to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Arita's porcelain. Tozan Shrine 09 April 2011 01

The 1888 ''

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 ...

'' (a Shinto shrine archway), uniquely constructed of porcelain, was designated a Tangible Cultural Property on 28 April 2000.

References

External links

Sueyama Shrine Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sueyama Shrine Shinto shrines in Saga Prefecture Hachiman shrines Religious buildings and structures completed in 1658