Towatari Shrine (登渡神社, ''Towatari-jinja''), also known as Nobuto Shrine (登戸神社, ''Nobuto-jinja''), is a

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 ...

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

located in Nobuto, Chūō-ku,

Chiba City is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It sits about east of the centre of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. The city became a government-designated city in 1992. In March 2025, its population was 983,045, with a population density of 3,617 people ...

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

, Japan. Originally a branch

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

of Kongojū-ji, a temple to the

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

Myōken Myōken (, ; Chinese: 妙見菩薩 (Traditional) / 妙见菩萨 ( Simplified), ; Japanese: 妙見菩薩, ''Myōken Bosatsu''), also known as Sonjō-Ō (尊星王, "Venerable Star King", also ''Sonsei-Ō'' or ''Sonshō-Ō''), is a Buddhist deifi ...

founded by the

Chiba clan The Chiba Clan (千葉氏 ''Chiba-shi'') was a Japanese '' gōzoku'' and samurai family descending from the Taira clan. The clan was founded by Chiba Tsuneshige, originally Taira Tsuneshige. The Chiba governed in Shimōsa Province, and the cla ...

(modern Chiba Shrine), it was converted into a Shinto shrine during the mid-19th century.

Deities

The shrine is dedicated to the three deities of creation (造化三神, ''zōka sanshin'') of classical

Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of years of contac ...

Ame-no-Minakanushi Ame-no-Minakanushi (天之御中主, lit. "Heavenly Ancestral God of the Originating Heart of the Universe") is a deity (''kami'') in Japanese mythology, portrayed in the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki'' as the first or one of the first deitie ...

Takamimusubi Takamimusubi (高御産巣日, lit. "High Generative Force") is a Creator deity, creation deity in Japanese mythology, who was the second of the Kotoamatsukami, first beings to come into existence. It is speculated that Takamimusubi was origin ...

, and

Kamimusubi Kamimusubi (神産巣日, lit. "Spirit Generative Force"), also known as Kamimusuhi among other variants, is a ''kami'' and god of creation in Japanese mythology. They are a '' hitorigami,'' and the third of the first three ''kami'' to come into ...

. Enshrined together with them is Ame-no-Hiwashi, originally the deity of a nearby shrine that was

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

into Nobuto Shrine in 1908 ( Meiji 41).

History

The shrine was originally founded in 1644 (

Shōhō was a after '' Kan'ei'' and before '' Keian''. This period spanned the years from December 1644 through February 1648. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 412./ref> Change of era * 1644 : T ...

1) by

Chiba Sadatane Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on t ...

, 33rd head of the

, as a Buddhist temple named Hakujasan Shinkō-in Jōin-ji (白蛇山真光院定胤寺). It was a branch temple or ''matsuji'' (末寺) of Kongojū-ji (also known as Chiba Myōken-ji), a temple dedicated to

, the Buddhist deification of the

Big Dipper The Big Dipper (American English, US, Canadian English, Canada) or the Plough (British English, UK, Hiberno-English, Ireland) is an asterism (astronomy), asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them ar ...

and/or the northern pole star revered by the Chiba clan as their patron deity (what is today Chiba Shrine). In 1867 (

Keiō was a after '' Genji'' and before '' Meiji''. The period spanned the years from May 1865 to October 1868. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * May 1, 1865 (''Genji 2/Keiō 1, 7th day of the 4th month'') : The new era name of ''K ...

3), the temple became a Shinto shrine dedicated to the

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

(a deity in Japanese mythology conflated with Myōken),

, and

and renamed "Towatari Shrine". In 1990 (

Heisei The was the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito, when hi ...

2), the shrine's ''

honden In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a sta ...

'' (dating from 1860) was moved to its present location and a new ''hei''-'' haiden'' constructed in front of it.

Structures

*''Honden'' :The ''honden'' was originally Jōin-ji's former main hall, constructed in 1860 by a craftsman named Monjirō (紋次郎) from the village of Yagi in Katsushika District,

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture as well as the bordering parts of Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo (the parts that used to be located east of the lower reaches of the old Tone River prior to the ...

(part of the modern city of

Nagareyama Nagareyama City Hall is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 211,620 in 89,751 households and a population density of 6,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Nagareyama is ...

, Chiba Prefecture). The bas-reliefs decorating the building were carved by Tatekawa Washirō Tomimasa (立川和四郎富昌, the 2nd generation of the Tatekawa Washirō line of craftsmen) from Suwa District in

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

(modern

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

) and/or his son Tomishige (富重). The reliefs were designated tangible cultural properties by Chiba City in 1967 ( Shōwa 42).

Notes

References

{{reflist, 2

External links