Wakamiya Hachimansha, Yasaka Shrine, Kifune Shrine, & Yatate Shrine

 

After leaving the delightful Komo Shrine in the early morning of my 6th day walking the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage, the next section of my walk headed pretty much due East.

As usual, I stopped in at any shrines I passed. The first was called Wakamiya Hachimansha, and curiously the main kami was Emperor Nintoku. In 1908 a whole bunch of other kami were jointly enshrined, including Amaterasu, Susano, Takitsuhime, Ichikishimahime, and Kotoshironushi. I also saw a small Inari shrine in the grounds.

Next stop was a Yasaka Shrine.

Enshrining, of course, Susano and members of his family. Yasaka is the post-Meiji name for many different shrines, one of the most common names being Gion-Sha. No mention on the signboard what the old name was.

No mention of the secondary shrine in the grounds, but the early morning sun made for some striking photos.

The third shrine was a Kifune Shrine, a branch of the famous Kifune Shrine (Kibune Shrine) in the north of Kyoto.

It was located right next to a 6th-century burial mound.

When I first came to Japan, I read that Shinto had an aversion to death, and yet  I started to discover many ancient tombs had shrines built next to them...

Once again, the signboards gave no info on dates, history, or other shrines in the grounds.

The final shrine was Yatate Shrine, the largest of the group.

It is also known as Daikongawa Shrine.

In 720, Otomo no Tabito led an army of imperial and Usa Hachiman troops against the Kumaso in southern Kyushu. He planted arrows in the ground and prayed at this spot for victory.

In 725 a Hachiman shrine was established here and was made one of 8 shrines of an Imperial procession.

In 765, the reed pillow of the ritual from Komo Shrine visits here on its procession to the eight "outer shrines".

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage was on the large and impressive Komo Shrine.

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Sohachiman Shrine

Located in Nakanuki, near Sone in Minamikokura, Sohachiman shrine is quite a popular shrine in the area and is known particularly for prayers for a long life and also for enmusubi, finding a partner.

As a Hachiman shrine the main kami enshrined here is listed as Homuda Wake, the name of Emperor Ojin, but unlike most other hachiman shrines it does not list his mother, or father, or wife. It does however enshrine the three Munakata goddesses, Takirihime (Tagorihime), Ichikishimahime, and Takitsuhime.

However the main focus for visitors to the shrine is a massive boulder, split in two, called Suzuiwa, which enshrines the goddess Iwanagahime, one of two daughters of Oyamatsumi offered to Ninigi, the grandson of Amaterasu and mythical ancestor of the imperial line.

Ninigi rejected here because she was not as pretty as her sister, and in response she vowed that from now on the lives of the emperors as well as all other humans would be as brief as the blossoming of the cherry blossoms. This is why she is prayed to for longevity. The fact that the rock is split into two parts, one male the other female, is the reason people come here to pray for enmusubi.