Showing posts with label okuninushi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label okuninushi. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Mimasaka Soja Shrine
Labels:
chugoku33,
komainu,
okuninushi,
Shrine,
torii
Monday, November 6, 2023
Obama Shrine & its Komainu
The main building has a ceiling painting of a dragon which was transferred from the older shrine, but, for me, the most interesting thing at the shrine was the two pairs of small komainu that I suspect came from the two older shrines.
Labels:
komainu,
kyushu108,
nagasaki,
obama,
okuninushi,
shimabara,
Shrine,
sukunahikona,
takemikazuchi,
torii
Monday, July 25, 2022
Miyano Shrine established for Military Success
I have always been fascinated by the Izumo connection to Sila and how that played out with the Yamato connection to Paekche.
Labels:
amenokoyane,
asakura,
fukuoka,
komainu,
kyushu108,
okuninushi,
omiki,
Shrine,
torii
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Hyuga Ichinomiya Tsuno Shrine
On the afternoon of my 20th day walking the Kyushu Pilgrimage I passed under a large torii that straddled the road, and soon came into Tsuno Shrine, the Ichinomiya, that is to say, the highest ranked shrine in the former Hyuga Province, now Miyazaki Prefecture.
It was a very large shrine with extensive grounds, woods, and a koi and lily pond as well as numerous secondary shrines. What was surprising was the main kami enshrined here,.. Okuninushi. Being Hyuga one might have expected Ninigi, the grandson of Amaterasu sent from the High Plain of heaven to rule Japan, or his descendant Jimmu, the mythical first Emperor, but these kami only really became elevated in the Meiji period when they became an obsession with the nationalists trying to create a state-based "shinto".
I never did find out why Okuninushi, an Izumo kami, was the main one. There was a small shrine to Daikoku, one of the imported 7 Lucky Gods, who because his name is the same characters as Okuninushi are often equated together.
There were also plenty of heart-shaped ema because Okuninushiis now considered the god of enmusubi, especially finding a lover.
Labels:
daikoku,
ema,
ichinomiya,
kyushu108,
okuninushi,
Shrine
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Nibehime Shrine
Nibehime Jinja
On the third day of my walk along the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage I started the day at Shizuma with a visit to the main shrine in the village. To all outward appearances just a small village shrine, with a large shimenawa in Izumo style. However this was a relatively important shrine in the past.
It's listed in the Engi Shiki, a tenth Century document that, amongst other things, lists all the shrines in Japan that were receiving official offerings from the central government in Kyoto. The shrine also has some interesting kami enshrined here.
The main kami is Haniyasuhime, the female of the pair of kami known as kami of the soil. According to one version of the myth the two kami were created out of the feces of Izanami after she was killed by the kami of fire. The agricultural reference is pretty obvious.
Another couple of female kami are enshrined here also, Oyatsuhime and Tsumatsuhime, both daughters of Susano who arrived near here from the Korean Peninsula along with a Susano son, Isotakeru. All three landed not far from here near the village named after Isotakeru, Isotake. The three kami are known for spreading the seeds of useful trees they brought with them.
Labels:
engi shiki,
haniyasuhime,
iwami33,
okuninushi,
oyatsuhime,
shimenawa,
Shrine,
Tsumatsuhime
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Matsuo Shrine, Minamikokura
Just around the corner from the Sohachiman Shrine was the back entrance to a smaller shrine named Matsuo Shrine, a branch of the famous Matsuo (or Matsunoo) Taisha near Kyoto.
The two main kami are Oyamagui and his wife Nakatsushimahime, believed to be the ancestral kami of the Hata clan who founded Matsuo Shrine as well as Fushimi Inari. The signboard here also lists Onamuchi, one of the names of Okuninushi.
It also lists a Taga Shrine as a Massha. Massha and Sessha are secondary shrines usually within a shrine grounds. Historically the two were a little different but the distinction is no longer valid, basically it means that the kami of the secondary shrine has some sort of relationship, often familial, with the main shrine kami.
The kami of the Taga Shrine is unclear.
Labels:
komainu,
kyushu108,
matsuo shrine,
nakatsushimahime,
okuninushi,
oyamagui,
Shrine,
torii
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Fuku Shrine, Shizutani
Around lunchtime on the first day of my walk along the Chugoku Pilgrimage I was approaching Shizutani and stopped in at Fuku Shrine. Like many shrines in the area, Bizen, the komainu were ceramic, known as Bizenware.
Apparently, about a year after I was here the pair of komainu were stolen, but reappeared two months later, though a little damaged.
Unusually for a rural shrine, it was not founded until 1688. many town shrines were founded then as towns were primarily a product of the Edo period. As Shizutani School is only a short distance away, and it was founded in 1670, it may be related.
Also, considering its location, the choice of main kami is unusual, Okuninushi. It is quite some distance from the old road that ran between Izumo and the capital.
Labels:
bizen,
chugoku33,
komainu,
okuninushi,
Shrine
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Hiyoshi Shrine, Nogata
In the north of Nogata I came across this small Hiyoshi Shrine, one of about 4,000 branch shrines of Hiyoshi Taisha, the shrine complex associated with Enryakuji on Mount Hiei, and the origin of the Sanno Shinto sect.
The two kami enshrined in Hiyoshi shrines are Oyamakui and Okuninushi, corresponding to the east and west shrines at Hiyoshi Tasiaha. Both are from in the Susano lineage, and Oyamakui being associated with the Korean immigrants who founded the first shrine at Hiyoshi.
One of the pairs of komainu were unusual, one standing upright, and the other, pictured here, doing a "handstand". These types can often be seen in a small ceramic form on shrine or temple roofs.
There was no signboard at the shrine so I have no idea about its history or secondary shrines in the grounds, but in one small shrine I did find this worn, wooden figure, though I dont know who it represents.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Tamatsukuriyu Shrine
Nowadays the shrine is most well known for its "wish fulfilling stone" (negai ishi). Nowadays you can buy small stones from the shrine office and hold them against the almost spherical stone and have its power transferred.
There are numerous secondary shrines within the grounds including an Inari, Konpira, Susa, a Tama no Miya, Several other shrines I can find no information about, Kikakashi, Fukutoku, & Sanatama.
Labels:
haakarutama,
inari,
izumo33,
konpira,
kushiakarutami,
okuninushi,
shimenawa,
Shrine,
sukunahikona,
susa
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