The , is a Shinto shrine in the town of Mori, Shūchi District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.Kotodamaya.com, "Okuni Jinja"; retrieved 2013-1-27. It is one of the two shrines claiming the title of ichinomiya of former Tōtōmi Province. "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya", p. 1; retrieved 2013-1-27. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on April 18.
Enshrined kami The kami enshrined at Okuni Jinja is: Ōnamuchi-no-mikoto (大己貴命), kami of nation-building, agriculture, medicine, and protective magic
History The date of Okuni Shrine's foundation is unknown. Shrine tradition gives a date of February 18, 555 (during the reign of Emperor Kinmei) as the date when a shrine was first constructed on the summit of six-kilometer distant 511-meter Mount Hongū, which now forms part of the shrine's grounds. The shrine only appears in historical records from an entry within the Shoku Nihon Kōki dated June 14, 884 and it is mentioned again in the Engishiki records, but is still listed as a "minor shrine". It has been styled the ichinomiya of Tōtōmi Province since at least 1235, and continued to be referred to as the “Ichinomiya” until the end of the Edo period. Due to the waning power of the Imperial Court, imperial messages ceased to be sent to the shrine from the Muromachi period. The shrine was destroyed when Takeda Shingen invaded Tōtōmi in 1572 and the shrine's priests sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was rebuilt by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1575, and subsequent generations of Tokugawa shōguns continued to support the shrine.
During the Meiji period era of State Shinto, the shrine was rated as a prefectural shrine in 1873, and was promoted to a under the Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines in 1874.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, pp. 125.
The shrine is located a 50-minute walk from Tōtōmi-Ichinomiya Station on the Tenryū Hamanako Railroad
Events The main festival of the shrine is held annually on April 18, during which time a set of twelve dances are performed. This performance is said to date to the early Heian period and is a National Intangible Cultural Property.
Gallery
Cultural properties Important Intangible Cultural Folk Properties ,
See also List of Shinto shrines in Japan List of Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties Ichinomiya
References
External links
Official home page