Hachiman Shrine
Encyclopedia
Kami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...
Hachiman
Hachiman
In Japanese mythology, is the Japanese syncretic god of archery and war, incorporating elements from both Shinto and Buddhism. Although often called the god of war, he is more correctly defined as the tutelary god of warriors. He is also divine protector of Japan and the Japanese people...
. It is the second most numerous type of Shinto shrine after those dedicated to Inari
Inari (mythology)
is the Japanese kami of fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry and worldly success and one of the principal kami of Shinto. Represented as male, female, or androgynous, Inari is sometimes seen as a collective of three or five individual kami...
.
Originally the name was read Yawata or Yahata, a reading still used in some occasions.
Famous Hachiman shrines
- The following four shrines are made into groups of three, either as Usa-Iwashimizu-Hakozaki or Usa-Iwashimizu-Tsurugaoka, and both of these groupings are known as the Three Major Hachiman Shrines of Japan.
- Usa ShrineUsa Shrine, also known as , is a Shinto shrine in the city of Usa in Ōita Prefecture in Japan. Emperor Ojin, who was deified as Hachiman-jin , is said to be enshrined in all the sites dedicated to him; and the first and earliest of these was at Usa in the early 8th century...
宇佐神宮 (Usa, ŌitaUsa, Oita' is a city located in Ōita Prefecture, Japan. Usa is famous for being the location of the Usa Shrine, built in 725, the head shrine of all of Hachiman shrines in Japan.Usa is made up of three areas.*Usa, the area surrounding the Usa Shrine...
) -- Sōhonsha (the head shrine) of Hachiman Shrines. - Iwashimizu ShrineIwashimizu ShrineThe is a Shinto shrine in the city of Yawata in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. -History:The shrine's Heian period connections with the Kyoto and the Imperial family date from its founding in 859 when construction on its earliest structures commenced...
岩清水八幡宮 (Yawata, KyotoYawata, Kyotois a city located in Kyoto, Japan.As of May 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 74,150, with 31,120 households and the density of 3,042.68 persons per km². The total area is 24.37 km²....
) - Hakozaki ShrineHakozaki Shrineis a Shintō shrine in Fukuoka .-History:Hakozaki Shrine was founded in 923, with the transfer of the spirit of the kami Hachiman from Daibu Hachiman Shrine in what is Honami Commandry, Chikuzen Province in Kyūshū....
筥崎宮 (FukuokaFukuoka, Fukuokais the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
) - Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū 鶴岡八幡宮 (Kamakura, KanagawaKamakura, Kanagawais a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...
)
- Usa Shrine
Other Hachiman shrines
-
- Hakodate Hachiman Shrine 函館八幡宮 (Hakodate, HokkaidoHakodate, Hokkaidois a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854 as a result of Convention of Kanagawa, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan...
) - Hatogamine Hachiman ShrineHatogamine Hachiman Shrineis an ancient Japanese Shinto shrine in Tokorozawa, Saitama.- History :Hatogamine Hachiman Shrine is believed to date to 921 A. D. when a ground purification ceremony was held there...
鳩峰八幡神社 (Tokorozawa, SaitamaTokorozawa, Saitamais a city in Saitama, Japan. It is located in the central part of the Musashino plain, about 30 km west of downtown Tokyo. Tokorozawa can be considered part of the greater Tokyo area; its proximity to the latter and lower housing costs make it a popular bedroom community.-Location:Tokorozawa...
) - Morioka Hachiman Shrine 盛岡八幡宮 (Morioka, IwateMorioka, Iwateis the capital city of Iwate Prefecture, Japan.As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 300,740 and a population density of 588.11 persons per km². The total area is 489.15 km²....
) - Ōsaki Hachiman Shrine 大崎八幡宮 (Sendai, MiyagiSendai, Miyagiis the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku Region. In 2005, the city had a population of one million, and was one of Japan's 19 designated cities...
) - Tomioka Hachiman ShrineTomioka Hachiman Shrineis the largest Hachiman Shrine in Tokyo.-History:The shrine was founded in 1627 with reclamation of the shoal. The God Hachiman whom the shrine reveres was also a local Shinto deity of the Minamoto clan thus the shinto shrine received cordial protection by the Tokugawa shogunate...
富岡八幡宮 (Koto, TokyoKoto, Tokyois one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 442,271 and a population density of 11,070 persons per km². The total area is 39.48 km². The ward refers to itself as Kōtō City in English....
) - Tamukeyama Hachiman Shrine 手向山八幡宮 (near Todaiji, NaraNara, Narais the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...
) - Umi Hachiman ShrineUmi Hachimangūis a Shinto shrine located in Umi, Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. It is dedicated to Emperor Ōjin, Empress Jingū, Tamayori-bime, Sumiyoshi sanjin and Izanagi.-History:...
宇美八幡宮 (Umi, FukuokaUmi, Fukuokais a town located in Kasuya District, Fukuoka, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 38,545 and a density of 1,275.48 persons per km². The total area is 30.22 km²....
) - Ōmiya Hachiman Shrine (Tokyo) 大宮八幡宮 (Suginami, TokyoSuginami, Tokyois one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Suginami City.As of April 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 538,703, with 301,277 households, and a density of 15,834.39 persons per km². The total area is 34.02 km².-Geography:Suginami occupies the...
) - Ōmiya Hachiman Shrine (Hyōgo)Omiya Hachiman Shrine (Hyogo)is a Shinto shrine in Miki, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It is a Hachiman Shrine that was founded in 1111 and was rebuilt in 1585 after having burned down.-Events:*Third Sunday in January: Oni-oi Shiki....
大宮八幡宮 (Miki, HyōgoMiki, Hyogois a city located in Hyōgo, Japan.As of April 30, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 82,162, with a household number of 32,143 and a population density of 465.30 persons per km²...
) - Ōshio Hachiman Shrine 大塩八幡宮 (Echizen, FukuiEchizen, Fukuiis a city in Fukui, Japan.Echizen took its present form on October 1, 2005, when the city of Takefu and the town of Imadate merged to form the new city, although the Echizen Basin has been an important regional center for over 1,500 years. It has many former castle sites and prehistoric...
) - Hachiman Shrine (SaipanSaipanSaipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, Northern Mariana IslandsNorthern Mariana IslandsThe Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...
)
- Hakodate Hachiman Shrine 函館八幡宮 (Hakodate, Hokkaido