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.