Usa Jingū (
Usa Jingū | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Shinto |
Deity | Hachiman |
Type | Hachiman Shrine Chokusaisha |
Location | |
Location | 2859, Ōaza Minamiusa, Usa-shi, Ōita-ken[1] |
Geographic coordinates | 33°31′34″N 131°22′29″E / 33.52611°N 131.37472°E |
Architecture | |
Date established | 8th century[2] |
Website | |
www | |
Glossary of Shinto |
History
editThe shrine was founded in Kyushu during the Nara period. Ancient records place the foundation of Usa Jingū in the Wadō era (708–714).[4] A temple called Miroku-ji (
In connection with Miroku-ji, many Tendai temples were established across the Kunisaki Peninsula forming Rokugō Manzan (
Usa Jingū is today the center from which over 40,000 branch Hachiman shrines have grown.[1] Usa's Hachiman shrine first appears in the chronicles of Imperial history during the reign of Empress Shōtoku. The empress allegedly had an affair with a Buddhist monk named Dōkyō. An oracle was said to have proclaimed that the monk should be made emperor; and the kami Hachiman at Usa was consulted for verification. The empress died before anything further could develop.[7] In the 16th century, the temple was razed to the ground and repeatedly attacked by the Christian-sympathizing lord of Funai Ōtomo Yoshishige. The wife of Yoshishige, Ōtomo-Nata Jezebel was the High Priestess alongside Nara Clan and resisted against her former husband's attacks.[8]
Usa Jingū was designated as the chief Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) for the former Buzen province.[9]
From 1871 through 1946, Usa was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha (
Mikoshi
editUsa Jingū is considered to be the birthplace of mikoshi.[11] The earliest recorded use of a mikoshi was in the 8th century during the Nara period. In 749, the shrine's mikoshi was used to carry the spirit of Hachiman from Kyushu to Nara, where the deity was to guard construction of the great Daibutsu at Tōdai-ji. By the 10th century, carrying mikoshi into the community during shrine festivals had become a conventional practice.[12]
Branch shrines
editOver the course of centuries, a vast number of Hachiman shrines have extended the reach of the kami at Usa:
In 859, a branch offshoot was established to spread Hachiman's protective influence over Kyoto;[3] and this Iwashimizu Hachimangū still draws worshipers and tourists today.
In 923, the Hakozaki-gū was established at Fukuoka as a branch of the Usa Shrine.[13]
In 1063, Tsurugaoka Hachimangū was established by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi to extend Hachiman's protective influence over Kamakura;[3] and today this branch shrine attracts more visitors than any other shrine in Japan.
Festivals and events
editHōjō-e festival
editBecause of its mixed religious ancestry, one of the important festivals at the shrine is the Hōjō-e (
The event begins with the eight kilometer carrying of a mikoshi from Usa Jingū to the banks of the Yorimo River (
Hatsumōde
editThe shrine attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors on and surrounding New Year's Day for Hatsumōde (
Goshinkosai
editGoshinkosai (
Architecture
editThe main hall and the Kujaku Monkei are designated amongst Japan's National Treasures.[1]
The structures which comprise the current shrine complex were built in the middle of the 19th century. Their characteristic configuration, called Hachiman-zukuri, consists of two parallel structures with gabled roofs interconnected on the non-gabled side to form what internally is a single building. Seen from the outside, however, the complex still gives the impression of being two separate buildings.[21] The structure in front is called the ge-in, which is where the deity is said to reside during the daytime. The structure in the rear is called the nai-in, which serves as the deity's sleeping chamber during the night.[2]
The vermillion-painted Kurehashi Bridge (
Worship style
editThe worship style at Usa Jingū differs from that of other shrines. After putting a coin in the saisen box (
Access
editThe Daiko Hokubu Bus (
There are four round-trip buses per day from Oita Airport to Usa Jingū.[24]
In 2013, a slope car was installed to assist elderly and wheelchair-bound visitors in reaching the Upper Shrine.
The former Usa Sangū Line (
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT): Usa Jinju Shrine[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO): Usa-jingū shrine
- ^ a b c Hardacre, Helen. (1989). Shinto and the State, 1868-1988, p. 12.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). Studies in Shinto and Shrines, p. 195.
- ^ Cambridge History of Japan Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. 1993. pp. 524–530. ISBN 978-0-521-22352-2.
- ^ a b "
神仏 習合 発祥 六 郷 満山 ". Usa Jingu Official Website. Retrieved 17 June 2024. - ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 78-81; Brown, Delmer etal. (1993). The Cambridge History of Japan, p. 411 n144 citing Ross Bender, "The Hachiman Cult and the Dōkyō Incident" in Monumenta Nipponica. 24 (Summer 1979): 124.
- ^ Ward (2009), p. 124.
- ^ "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 3.; retrieved 2011-08-09
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, pp. 124-126.
- ^ "Usa City Tourist Navigation" Retrieved 6 June 2024
- ^ Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America: Omikoshi procession Archived 2009-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Fukuoka/Hakata Tourist Information website: Hakozaki Shrine
- ^ Bocking, Brian (1997). A Popular Dictionary of Shinto - 'Iwashimizu Hachimangū'. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7007-1051-5.
- ^ Satō, Makoto: "Shinto and Buddhism". Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kokugakuin University, retrieved on August 14, 2011
- ^ a b "Chushusai (Mid-Autumn Festival)". Usa City Official Website.
- ^ "
宇佐 市 の宇佐 神宮 初詣 の参拝 客 でにぎわう". NHK News. Retrieved 18 June 2024. - ^ "
令 和 6年 正月 催 し物 ". Usa Jingu Official Website. Retrieved 18 June 2024. - ^ "
宇佐 夏越 祭 り". Retrieved 18 June 2024. - ^ "
御 神幸 祭 ". Usa City Official Website. Retrieved 18 June 2024. - ^ JAANUS, Hachiman-zukuri accessed on December 1, 2009
- ^ a b "Kurehashi Bridge" Usa City. Retrieved 6 June 2024
- ^ "Usa Jingu - About Worship" retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Usa Shrine" Japan Guide. Retrieved June 6 2024
- ^ "Usa Hachiman Railway Station" Retrieved 6 June 2024
Sources
edit- Bender, Ross. "The Hachiman Cult and the Dōkyō Incident," Monumenta Nipponica. 24 (Summer 1979): 124.
- Hardacre, Helen. (1989). Shinto and the State, 1868-1988. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-02052-5; OCLC 19067219
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). Studies in Shinto and Shrines. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 3994492
- Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon (Nipon o daï itsi ran). Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. (in French)
- Ward, Haruko Nawata (2009), "Ōtomo-Nata Jezebel:... Priestess of Hachiman", in Poska, Allyson; Zanger, Abby (eds.), Women Religious Leaders in Japan's Christian Century, 1549–1650, Women and Gender in the Early Modern World, Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 111–126, ISBN 9780754664789.
External links
edit- Usa Shrine JAPAN : the Official Guide
- Shrine image, 180° panorama