Imimiya Shrine

 

Imimiya Shrine in Chofu is quite a large shrine with roots in the mythic past.

According to the myth-legend, Emperor Chuai and his consort Jingu stayed here during their campaign to subjugate the Kumaso people of Kyushu and erected a shrine and performed rituals here.

Later, in 728, the spirit of Chuai was transferred here from Kashii Shrine in what is now Fukuoka.

Jingu and Ojin, were enshrined as comanion shrines and so there were three seperate shrines.

Following one of the numerous fires that destroyed buildings, the three were  combined together and the shrine renamed Imimiya.

One of the major secondary shrines within the grounds is the Arakuma Inari Shrine.

A champion sumo wrestler, Kaiketsu Masaki, used to pray here every year before the Kyushu tournament, and later another wrestler, Ono Kuniyasu, was also assoiated with the shrine.

Consequently, there is a small sumo museum next to the shrine, and may explain the small sumo wrestler-like stone figures.

Other shrines within Imimiya are a Wakamiya Shrine enshrining Emperor Nintoku, a Takara Shrine enshrining Takeuchi no Sukune.

There is a Yasaka Shrine which, along with Susano and his family, also enshrines 42 other kami from the time of "shrine consolidation", the offiial name for the program that closed local shrines. There is a Soja Shrine, which was a shrine where all the kami from the area were gathered to enable the local governor to avoid travelling to perform his duties, and another shrine to Ojin.

Two small islets just off the coast, Manju and Kanju, linked to another myth about Empress Jingu, are also considered part of the shrine precincts.

Imimiya Shrine has a whole slew of festivals throughout the year, but the most interesting is the Kazukata Garden Festival held in August. It is referred to as the "strangest festival in the world", although I have been unable to find the exact source of this accolade.

To understand the festval we must refer to another myth-legend, that of Jinrin. Jinrin is one of most popular kagura dances in my area, though I must admit I never delved into the story before, other than the good guy-bad guy motif.

While encamped here, Emperor Chuai and his army were attacked by the Kumaso. It is said that this was at the instigation of Jinrin from Sila, one of the three kingdoms on the Korean Peninsula. It is also said that Jinrin led the attack, and was a fearsome figure that killed many of  Chuai's soldiers, and so Chuai himself took up a bow and arrow and slew Jinrin.

The head of Jinrin, with the visage of a demon, was buried here and the emperor's soldiers danced round the spot with raised spears. The stone covering the buried head is the Oniishi in the shrine and the focal point of the festival.

During the night of the festival, women and girls carry lanterns, and the men and boys carry banners atop bamboo poles, and everyone dances around the Oniishi.

So far, nothing seems to explain why this might be considered a strange festival, until you consider that some of the bamboo poles are 30 meters high and weigh up to 100 kilograms.

There is a photo at the end of this post showing some of the poles, and a link to a video of the festival...

The photo below is a monument to silkworms. According to the myth, a Chinese Emperor brought silkworms with him to this spot, and so sericulture began in Japan.

The previous post was on the nearby gardens and mansion of the Mori Clan

Below is a photo I took on an earlier visit to the shrine during August. Unfortunately we could not stay until the evening to watch the festival, but could see all the huge bamboo poles used in the festival. Here is a link to a youtube video I found on the festival.

If you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the most recent posts.

Arashima Hachimangu

Arashima Hachimangu is located right on Route 9. Hachiman is usually a trio of kami, Homuda Wake, the name of Emperor Ojin, is usually the primary, and the other two being taken from his mother, Jingu, his father, Chuai, or his wife, Himegami. Unusually this one lists Homuda Wake, Jingu, and Takeuchi Sukune, who was Jingu's minister.

It is a direct branch of the Usa Hachimangu. Almost two thirds of Hachimangu nationwide are branches of Iwashimizu. Like all the other shrine in this area there was a Zuijinmon which also had a pair of nice wooden komainu.

Again, like all the other shrines in the area there was an altar to Kojin, the most common kami in the region that hardly gets a mention in any sources on Shinto as it is neither national nor imperial. Represented as a rope snake, in my neighboring area the name is different, but it is just as prevalent and important.

There are several outcroppings of smooth, rounded rock in the grounds. The smaller one has a hokora to Sumiyoshi in a small hole carved into it.

The larger one has steps carved into it that leads up to an Inari Shrine.

Toda Hachimangu part 2

This is a follow on post from the previous. The defensive gate at Toda Hachimangu.

As a Hachimangu, the enshrined deity is Hachiman, which came to be equated with Ojin, the emperor whose name was Homuda Wake, as well as his mother Jingu. As the tutelary deity for samurai, there is almost always one associated with castles. The interior has a nice ceiling painting of a dragon.

The largest of the secondary shrines within the grounds is a Takeuchi Shrine just to the left of the main shrine.
Enshrining Takenouchinosukune, a government minister who lived for close to 300 years advising 5 emperors. There is a Takenouchi and Hachiman combined shrine on the southern outskirts of Matsue, but I believe this one is the original and the former was constructed after the castle was moved from here to Matsue.

Thgere are other smaller shrines including an Ebisu, Taisha, and a Sakatoke shrine. Sakatoke seems to be another name of Oyamatsumi, elder brother of Amaterasu and Susano.

There is also a Katsuhi Shrine, which was the original shrine on the mountaintop opposite. The shrine was moved here before the Hachimangu was built. A Katsuhi shrine was rebuilt on the mountain top after the castle was demolished and I will find out more about it before I post about it next week.