Kashii Jingu

 

Kashii Shrine is a large shrine complex a little north of Hakata in Fukuoka. Sometimes called Kashiigu, it used to be called Kashii Jingu and that is the name of the nearest station.

In front of the shrine is a delightful pond garden with a Benzaiten Shrine.

According to the records the shrine was founded in 723, although it seems that it was not technically a shrine at that time but a mausoleum, which many historians believe was the first example in Japan of this mainland Asian concept.

According to the myths, this was the site of a temporary palace for Emperor Chuai and his consort Jingu on their military campaign to subdue the local Kumaso people.

Chuai died here and Jingu built a mausoleum for him before going on to invade and conquer Korea, something for which there is zero evidence of.

It is said that later she was also enshrined here and the two mausoleums together became what is now Kashii Shrine.

According to the records the site changed into being a shrine from being a mausoleum in the 10th century.

The shrine grew in status and is now one of the 16 shrines nationwide that still receive offerings from Imperial envoys.

The shrine was burned down numerous times during its history.

The current main hall dates back to 1801. Other structures date back to the end of the 19th century.

One notable feature is the Ayasugi, photo 9, an ancient tree encircled with a vermillion fence. According to the legend Jingu buried objects here on her return from Korea including twings of sugi, Japanese Cedar, that had been carried inside her armour. According to this myth the tree is supposedly 1,800 years old.

The main kami of the shrine are Emperor Chuai and Empress Jingu along with their son, Ojin / Hachiman, and the Sumiyoshi Kami.

There are lots of other shrines within the grounds, including an Inari and a Keihi shrine, photo 11.

There is a Takeuchi Shrine enshrining the famous minister serving Chuai and Jingu and several other emperors as he is said to have died at  280 years of age. He is enshrined at many shrines in Japan but his main shrine is Ube Shrine in Tottori. Makio Shrine, last photo, enshrines another minister, Nakatomi Ikatsu Omuraji.

Other shrines are a Hamao Shrine, a Kutose Shrine, a Hirano Shrine, an Inkeya Shrine, A Takaba Shrine, and a Hayatsuju Shrine.

There are many, many shrines and sites around this part of northern Kyushu with connection to the myth of Jingu, many of which I visited, so it seems fairly certain that there was a powerful female leader in the area. The dates of 3rd century are patently absurd, though that doesn't stop many from claiming them as historical fact. Some historians in the Edo Period suggest the Jingu myths refer to Himiko. The invasion of Korea has absolutely zero evidence, though there is lots of evidence suggesting an importation of people, ideas, and technology from the Korean Peninsula in the 5th century, the more likely time of any historical "Jingu".

The previous post in this series on Day 76 of my Kyushu Pilgrimage was on Hakozaki Shrine.

Hakozakigu Shrine

 

Hakozaki Shrine was founded in 923 when the wakemitama, divided spirit, was enshrined here in Hakata after being brought from the Daibu Hachiman Shrine in what is now Iizuka.

By the 12th century it had become the Ichinomiys, the highest ranked shrine in the province.

During the first Mongol Invasion in 1274 the shrine was burned down.

When the shrine was rebuilt the Emperor Kemeyama sent a scroll with the message "May the enemy nations prostrate themselves (in defeat)" The carved sign above the main gate has this inscription in a copy of the emperors own hand. There are however various theories about exactly which emperors sent the inscription first, and when. 

The shrine burned down several more times during wars, and when Hideyoshi had his campaign to subdue Kyushu he made Hakozaki Shrine his headquarters.

The main gate, photo 1 above, and several buildings are all Important Cultural Properties and date to the mid 16th century when the shrine was rebuilt by Ouchi Yoshitaka.

The current carving of the inscription above the gate dates from 1573 when the gate was rebuilt.

The shrine covers a very large area and is quite spacious, though paintings show that prior to 1868 there were many pagodas and other Buddhist structures within the ground.

Originally just a short distance from the sea, as the land has encroached on the sea the road leading to the shrine from the water has gotten longer.

Being a Hachiman shrine, the primary kami are Ojin, Jingu, and Tamayorihime.

In the penultimate photo below, a red fence encircles a pine tree known as the Box Pine. It is said that when Ojin was born, not far away in the hills overlooking what is now Fukuoka, his umbilical cord was placed in a box and buried on this spot.

Hakozaki means "Cape of the box".

I visited early in the morning of  76th day of my walk along the Kyushu 108 temple Pilgrimage. The previous post was on a small. local Kumano Shrine south of Fukuoka City

Kumano Shrine Yokohama Fukuoka

 

This Kumano Shrine is located on an 80 meter high hill on the south side of the river mouth that was home to Imazu Port, a port linked with trade with Asia in ancient times.

The area is named after the long beach nearby, Yokohama, not the now famous Yokohama up near Tokyo.

Beside the steps leading up to the shrine is a small Inari shrine, and then near the top a Yakushi-do.

Other than this being a branch of the famous Kumano Sanzan in Wakayama, I can find on information about its history.

The site of tye shrine used to be a manufacturing site of stone axes in te early Yayoi Period, and axes from this site have been found around northern Kyushu, indicating early trade.

The previous post was on the Shisho Shrine across on the other side of the river mouth.

Shisho Shrine Imazu

 

Shisho Shrine is located on the waters edge on the protected side of a headland in Imazu Bay.

The komainu, lanterns etc all seem to be of very recent origin.

One particularly huge tree stands in from of it.

Imazu was a port used in trade with mainland Asia in ancient times, for a while supplanting nearby Hakata in this role.

It is said that the shrine was established to protect the foreign ships and sailors who arrived in Imazu, though it would seem more likely to spiritually protect from such visitors, as disease and disaster was thought to come from "outside".

As the name suggests, four kami are enshrined here: Amaterasu, Hachiman, Sumiyoshi, and Kasuga. Hachiman and Sumiyoshi were originally cults from northern Kyushu but were very much "national" kami by this time.

The previous post was on the Bishamondo and viewpoint on the nearby Bishamonyama.

Koraiji Oimatsu Shrine

 

Koraiji is a village on the edge of the Itoshima Plain at the base of Mount Takaso.

Oimatsu Shrine was ranked as a village shrine in Meiji, but other than that I can find no history of it.

Like several other Oimatsu shrines I've come across in this part of Kyushu it enshrines Sugawara Michizane, and I have been intrigued by why they are not called Tenjin shrines or Tenmangu. One source I recently read suggested that many of the Oimatsu shrines are located on what were land under the control of Daizaifu Tenmangu. Shrines and temples were awarded lands as income and larger shrines and temples had huge estates in Japan.

The hall of the shrine had lots of ema paintings....

The area around the shrine is dotted with historical markers as the mountain was home to an 8th century "castle". Whereas ancient castles in Japan, which in English would be classed as forts, were said to be korean-style, this one was Chinese-style.

The previous post in those series on day 75 of my walk around Kyushu was on the nearby Itokoku History Museum which showcases the rich, ancient history of this region...