is a

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

located in the Takase neighborhood of the city of Nanto,

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 993,848 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It one of four shrines claiming the title of ''

ichinomiya is a Japanese language, Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a Provinces of Japan, province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth.''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retr ...

'' of former

Etchū Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Etchū bordered on Noto and Kaga Provinces to the west, Shinano and Hida Provinces to the south, Echigo Province to the east and the Sea o ...

. The shrine's main festival is held annually on September 13.

Enshrined ''kami''

The ''

kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

'' enshrined at Takase Jinja are: *.Kotodamaya.com
"Takase Jinja"
retrieved 2013-1-25. * *

History

The original construction of Takase Jinja is uncertain. Worship of

Ōkuninushi Ōkuninushi (; historical orthography: , ), also known as Ō(a)namuchi (''Oho(a)namuchi'') or Ō(a)namochi (''Oho(a)namochi'') among other variants, is a ''kami'' in Japanese mythology. He is one of the central deities in the cycle of myths re ...

was widespread in the

Hokuriku region The is located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan and is part of the larger Chūbu region. It is almost equivalent to the former Koshi Province (Japan), Koshi Province and Hokurikudō are ...

from before the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

and is believed to have been brought to this area by migrants from

Izumo Izumo (出雲) may refer to: Locations * Izumo Province, an old province of Japan * Izumo, Shimane, a city located in Shimane Prefecture ** Izumo Airport * Izumo-taisha, one of Japan's most ancient and important Shinto shrines Ships * ''Izumo ...

. The shrine claims to have been founded during the reign of the semi-legendary

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

Emperor Keikō , also known as and , was the 12th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Keikō's all ...

(reigned 71–130 AD)
official home page The first mention of the shrine in historical records is in an entry in the 780 AD ''

Shoku Nihongi The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the '' Six National Histories'', coming directly after the and followed by ''Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi served as t ...

'' when it was recorded that the shrine was granted the rank of Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下). Per the 795 AD ''

Nihon Kōki is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 840, it is the third volume in the Six National Histories. It covers the years 792–833. Background Following the earlier national history '' Shoku Nihongi'' (797), in 819 Em ...

'' it was promoted to Junior 5th Rank, Upper Grade, and the 840 AD ''

Shoku Nihon Kōki is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 869, it is the fourth volume in the Six National Histories. It covers the years 833–850. Following the earlier national history ''Nihon Kōki'' (840), in 855 Emperor Montoku o ...

'' states that it was promoted from Junior 4th Rank, Lower Grade to Junior 4th Rank, Upper Grade, and per the 854 AD ''

Nihon Montoku Tennō Jitsuroku , abbreviated as Montoku Jitsuroku, is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 879, it is the fifth text in the Six National Histories series. It covers the years 850-858, the years of reign of the 55th Japanese sovereign, ...

'', it had been accorded Junior 3rd Rank. Per the 859 AD ''

Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku , abbreviated as Sandai Jitsuroku, is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 901, it is the sixth and final text in the Six National Histories series. It covers the years 858–887. Background Following the earlier nati ...

'', it had advanced to Senior 3rd Rank. While these are indications of its high status, in the ''

Engishiki The is a Japanese book of laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178. History Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of the ''Engishi ...

'' records compiled in 927 AD it is listed as only one of seven minor shrines in Tonami County of Etchū Province. However, late in the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, the

provincial capital A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encomp ...

of Etchū was relocated to Tonami, and the Takase Jinja was elevated to an ''ichinomiya'' and was greatly enlarged. Under the ''

Shinbutsu-shūgō ''Shinbutsu-shūgō'' (, "syncretism of kami and buddhas"), also called ''Shinbutsu-konkō'' (, "jumbling up" or "contamination of kami and buddhas"), is the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, Buddhism that was Japan's main organized rel ...

'' movement joining Shintoism and Buddhism, it once had 300 Buddhist chapels. This period of prosperity was short-lived. With the growth of the ''

Ikkō-shū or "single-minded school" is usually viewed as a small, militant offshoot from Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism, though the name has a complex history. Originally, Ikkō-shū was an "obscure band of Pure Land proponents" founded by Ikkō Shunjō in the f ...

'' movement in Etchū and the various battles of the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

, the area around the Takase Jinja was devastated, and it fell largely into ruin. After the establishment of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

and the creation of

Toyama Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Etchū Province (modern-day Toyama Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Toyama Castle in what is now the city of Toyama, Toyama, Toyama. Throughout its history, it was ruled by a ...

, the shrine was revived with the patronage of the

Maeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who occupied most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū from the end of the Sengoku period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Maeda claimed descent from the Sugawara clan through Sugawara no Kiyotom ...

. Following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, with the establishment of

State Shinto was Empire of Japan, Imperial Japan's ideological use of the Japanese folk religion and traditions of Shinto. The state exercised control of shrine finances and training regimes for Kannushi, priests to strongly encourage Shinto practices that ...

in 1872, the shrine was originally designed as a "prefectural shrine" under the a

Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philos ...

, but was later raised in status to a in 1923. The shrine is located a 40 minute walk from Fukuno Station on the

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

Jōhana Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. It connects Takaoka, Toyama, Takaoka with Johana, Toyama, Johana. Route data *Operating Company: West Japan Railway Company (Services and tra ...

Gallery

File:Takase Shrine haiden.jpeg , ''Haiden'' File:国幣小社高瀬神社.jpg, Takase Jinja in 1938 File:県社高瀬神社.jpg, Takase Jinja in 1909

References

External links

*
Toyama Prefecture tourist information

Nanto city tourist information
{{in lang, ja Beppyo shrines Shinto shrines in Toyama Prefecture Etchū Province Nanto, Toyama Ichinomiya Kokuhei Shōsha Shikinai Shosha

Enshrined ''kami''

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links