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 ...

in the city of

Morioka, Iwate is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 August 2023, the city had an estimated population of 283,981 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of t ...

in northern

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 ...

. The shrine is noted for its annual festival on the second Saturday in June, which is famous for the '' Chagu Chagu Umakko'', a horse parade which was recognized in 1978 as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property. In 1996 the sound of the bells of the ''Chagu Chagu Umakko'' was selected by the Ministry of the Environment as one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan. The shrine is also noted for its displays of '' yabusame'' horse archery during its annual festival on September 15.

History

The Morioka Hachimangū was established in 1062 during the late

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 ...

when Minamoto no Yoriyoshi brought a '' bunrei'' of the

Minamoto clan was a Aristocracy (class), noble surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the Imperial House of Japan, imperial family who were excluded from the List of emperors of Japan, line of succession and demoted into the ranks of Nobili ...

’s tutelary shrine, the Iwashimizu Hachimangū in Kyoto to pray for victory in his campaign against the Abe clan in the Former Nine Years War. It was originally called the . The shrine was rebuilt in 1593 by the

Nanbu clan The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan who ruled most of northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region of Japan for over 700 years, from the Kamakura period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Nanbu claimed descent from the Seiwa Ge ...

to be the protective shrine for Morioka Castle. Under the

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 ...

system of shrine ranking from 1871 through 1946, the Morioka Hachimangū was officially designated as a "prefectural shrine". The Edo-period shrine structures burned down in 1884. The present main structure dates from 2006.

Shinto belief

The shrine is dedicated to the veneration of the

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

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 ...

Hachiman In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements f ...

. Hachiman has been recognized as an amalgamation of the semi-legendary Emperor Ojin and his consort,

Empress Jingū was a Legend, legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her Emperor Chūai, husband's death in 200 AD. Both the and the (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Jingū's alleged lifetime. Legen ...

.Ponsbonby-Fane, ''Studies,'' pp. 78, 196.

References

* Breen, John and

Mark Teeuwen Mark J. Teeuwen (Marcus Jacobus Teeuwen, born 9 February 1966, Eindhoven) is a Dutch academic and Japanologist. He is an expert in Japanese religious practices, and he is a professor at the University of Oslo.University of Oslo faculty CV/ref> In a ...

. (2000)
''Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami.''
Honolulu:

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. ; * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962)
''Studies in Shinto and Shrines.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society.

External links

Notes

11th-century establishments in Japan 1062 establishments in Asia Shinto shrines in Iwate Prefecture Morioka, Iwate Mutsu Province Hachiman shrines Buildings and structures completed in 1062 Religious buildings and structures completed in the 1060s 11th-century Shinto shrines Beppyo shrines Ken-sha {{Hachiman Faith

History

Shinto belief

See also

References

External links

Notes