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 Tadadokoro neighborhood of the city of Kawanishi in

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

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 also called ‘Tada-Daigongen-Sha’ or ‘Kansai Nikko’, literally, ‘Nikko of Western Japan’. This shrine is the shrine of the

Seiwa Genji The is a line of the Japanese Minamoto clan that is descended from Emperor Seiwa, which is the most successful and powerful line of the clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto members, including Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Minamoto no Yoritomo, ...

clan from which

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

and many subsequent

Shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...

and ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' clans claimed descent. This shrine is one of

Three Genji Shrines are a group of three Japanese Shinto shrines connected with the Seiwa Genji group (the descent from Emperor Seiwa) of the Minamoto clan. * Rokusonnō Shrine, Minami-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture * Tada Jinja, Kawanishi, Hyōgo Prefecture * T ...

, with Rokusonnō Shrine in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

and

Tsuboi Hachimangū Tsuboi Hachimangū (壺井八幡宮, ''Tsuboi Hachimangū'') is a Shinto shrine located in Habikino, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is a Hachiman shrine, dedicated to the kami Hachiman. It was established in 1063 by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi. Its mai ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. The shrine was designated a National Historic Site in 1951.

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 Tada Jinja are: * , also known as Minamoto no Mitsunaka, also known as Tada no Manjū, is the oldest son of Minamoto no Tsunemoto. Due to his involvement in exposing the Anna Incident, he established himself to be a formidable samurai and was able to earn many governmental positions in various provinces. After serving as governor of Settsu Province, he helped to train various samurais alongside his retainers. Later on in his last few years, Mitsunaka became a Buddhist monk. * Minamoto no Yorimitsu is the eldest son of Mitsunaka. He served the Fujiwara clan and accumulated a great deal of wealth through holding government positions over many provinces. He is most famous for his endeavors with his Four Heavenly Kings in later years, such as the subjugation of Shuten-douji and the extermination of the Tsuchigumo. Yorimitsu inherited his father’s post as governor of Settsu Province and eventually became the founder of the Settsu-Genji. * Minamoto no Yorinobu is the third son of Mitsunaka. Along with his elder brother Yorimitsu, he served the Fujiwara clan and held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North. He was noted for having excellent martial prowess, and by suppressing Taira no Tadatsune’s rebellion, he laid the foundation for the Minamoto to advance into the eastern part of the country. In his later years, after serving as the governor of Kawachi Province, he became the founder of the Kawachi-Genji line. * Minamoto no Yoriyoshi is the eldest son of Yorinobu, inheriting his father’s excellent skill in martial arts. He gained fame in the eastern part of Japan during his time serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North and as a naval base general. He guaranteed the high reputation and prosperity of the Minamoto in the eastern provinces by putting an end to the Early Nine Years’ War. * Minamoto no Yoshiie is the eldest son of Yoriyoshi, and he is widely known as “Hachiman-taro” due to his exceptional martial prowess. Following his father’s footsteps, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North and as a military leader in the eastern part of the country. He was able to successfully put an end to the Later Three Years’ War, earning him the title of the “greatest and bravest warrior in the world”.

History

In 970, Settsu-no-kami

Minamoto no Mitsunaka was a Japanese samurai and court official of the Heian period. He served as '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' and acting governor of Settsu Province''.'' His association with the Fujiwara clan made him one of the wealthiest and most powerful courtiers of hi ...

, the founder of the

clan, received an oracle from Sumiyoshi Ōkami to established his residence in what is now Kawanishi. A temple (commonly known as Tada-in) was built, as Mitsunaka, converted to Buddhism following the visit of Ingen (954–1028),

Genshin , also known as , was a prominent Japanese monk of the Tendai school, recognized for his significant contributions to both Tendai and Pure Land Buddhism. Genshin studied under Ryōgen, a key reformer of the Tendai tradition, and became well kn ...

(942–1017), and Kaku'ub, of the

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

sect. The new convert declared, "You have shown me such extraordinary virtuous things. I'm someone who has killed an immeasurable number of living things. I'd like to atone for these sins. By building a Buddhist Hall I will stop committing any more crimes and save the lives of living things." "What is known as Tada-in is a cluster of halls that began to be built with this one." When Mitsunaka died in 997 he was buried in Tada-in. In the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

, the temple was regarded as the ancestral mausoleum of Seiwa-Genji, but it gradually declined. In the middle of the Kamakura period,

Hojo Yasutoki Hojo or Hōjō may refer to: Hojo or HoJo: *Howard Johnson's, a U.S. chain of restaurants and hotels *A nickname for a number of people named Howard Johnson *A nickname for Howard Jones (British musician), an synthpop singer, musician and songwr ...

, the ''

shikken The was a senior government post held by members of the Hōjō clan, officially a regent of the shogunate. From 1199 to 1333, during the Kamakura period, the ''shikken'' served as the head of the ''bakufu'' (shogun's government). This era was ref ...

'' of the

Kamakura Shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...

, became the land steward of Tada-sho ''

shōen A was a field or Manorialism, manor in Japan. The Japanese language, Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese language, Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: ''zhuāngyuán'', Cantonese: ''zong1 jyun4''). Shōen, from about the 8th to th ...

'', he decided to carry out a large-scale reconstruction of the Tada-in. In 1273, Ninsho of

Saidai-ji } 280px, Model of Nara period Saidai-ji is a Buddhist temple located in the Saidiaji-Shiba neighborhood of the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It became the head temple of the sect after the sect's founder, , took over administration in 1 ...

was appointed to undertake the restoration, and as a result, the temple changed from the Tendai sect to the

Shingon Risshu The is a comparatively small medieval sect of Buddhism in Japan that arose in the Kamakura period as an offshoot of Shingon Buddhism. Its founder was a monk named Eison (叡尊 1201-1290), a disciple of Jōkei, and carried further by Eison's disci ...

sect. In the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

Ashikaga Takauji also known as Minamoto no Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. ...

, who was a descendent of the Seiwa Genji, revered the Tada-in, and temple became a mortuary temple for the Ashikaga shogunate, with the ashes of successive generations of

shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...

buried at the temple. However, the temple was destroyed by the forces of

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

in 1577. It remained in ruins until restored in 1665 by Sakakibara Tadatsugu of

Himeji Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Harima Province in what is now the southern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Himeji Castle, which is located in what ...

Inaba Masanori was a ''daimyō'' of Odawara Domain in Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture) in early-Edo period Japan. His courtesy title was '' Mino no Kami''. Biography Inaba Masanori was the second son of the previous daimyō of Odawara, Inab ...

Odawara Domain file:Odawara 2006-02-21 c.jpg, 250px, Odawara Castle, Headquarters of the Odawara Domain was a Japanese Han (Japan), domain of the Edo period, located primarily in western Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture). It was centered on Odawa ...

and the descendants of the Tada-in retainers. Shogun

Tokugawa Ietsuna was the fourth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He is considered the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, which makes him the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. ...

granted an estate with a ''

kokudaka refers to a system for determining land value for taxation purposes under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo-period Japan, and expressing this value in terms of ''koku'' of rice. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Koku"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 5 ...

'' of 500 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...

'' for its upkeep, and most of its structures were rebuilt by 1667. As with the Ashikaga, successive generation of the

Tokugawa shogun 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 ...

s ashes and ''

ihai A spirit tablet, memorial tablet, or ancestral tablet is a placard that people used to designate the seat of a deity or past ancestor as well as to enclose it. The name of the deity or the past ancestor is usually inscribed onto the tablet. Wit ...

'' mortuary tablets with enshrined at the temple. Shogun

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis- ...

restored the main shrine building in 1695. In the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

, due to the separation of Shintoism and Buddhism by the government, Tada-in was transformed into a

enshrining Minamoto no Mitsunaka,

Minamoto no Yorimitsu , also known as Minamoto no Raikō, was a Japanese samurai of the Heian period, who served the regents of the Fujiwara clan along with his brother Yorinobu, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take. He is one of t ...

Minamoto no Yorinobu was a samurai commander and member of the powerful Minamoto clan. Along with his brother Minamoto no Yorimitsu, Yorimitsu, Yorinobu served the regents of the Fujiwara clan, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take. ...

Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was a Japanese samurai lord who was the head of the Minamoto clan and served as '' Chinjufu-shōgun''. Along with his son Minamoto no Yoshiie, he led the Imperial forces against rebellious forces in the north, a campaign called the Zenkunen War, ...

, and

Minamoto no Yoshiie , also known as and his title , was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period, and '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' (Commander-in-chief of the defense of the North). The first son of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, he proved himself in battle with the Ab ...

as ''

''. The shrine was ranked as a Prefectural Shrine under the

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 ...

Gallery

File:Tada-jinja, haiden-2.jpg, Haiden (ICP) File:Tada-jinja, zuishinmon.jpg, Zuishinmon (ICP) File:Tada-jinja, nandaimon.jpg, MInami Daimon (兵庫県指定文化財) File:Tada-jinja, higashimon.jpg, Higashi-mon (兵庫県指定文化財) File:Tada-jinja, nishimon.jpg, Nishi-mon (兵庫県指定文化財) File:Tada-jinja, otorii.jpg, Ōtorii File:Tada-jinja byo.jpg, Grave of Minamoto no Yorimitsu

Cultural Properties

Important Cultural Properties

*, built in 1667 *, built in 1667 *, built in 1667 *, 43 scrolls with 492 document

National Tangible Cultural Properties

*, built in 1667

References

External links

*
Hyogo Tourism home page
{{Authority control Shinto shrines in Hyōgo Prefecture Settsu Province Kawanishi, Hyōgo Important Cultural Properties of Japan Historic Sites of Japan Minamoto clan Beppyo shrines Ken-sha Hyogo Prefecture designated tangible cultural property