Hirota Shrine
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| Hirota Shrine 広田神社 |
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| Type | Grand Shrine, one of the Nijūnisha |
| Dedicated to | Amaterasu |
| Founded | 3rd century |
| Founder(s) | Empress Jingū |
| Address | 7-7 Taisha-chō, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo prefecture |
Hirota Shrine (広田神社 Hirota-jinja?) is a Shinto shrine in Nishinomiya City, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Nishinomiya literally means "shrine of the west," and the town is in fact named after Hirota Shrine.
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[edit] Location
Hirota Shrine is near the Hankyū Kōyō Line, between Kurakuenguchi Station and Kōyōen Station. It is near the Nishinomiya City bus stop "Taisha Machi".
[edit] History
Hirota Shrine is one of three shrines which, according to Nihon Shoki, a historical epic chronicle, was established by the Empress Jingū in the 3rd century. In the legend, Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun, and arguably the most important kami in Shinto, speaks and declares that she and the other gods of Japan must be enshrined in Hirota, Nagata, Ikuta, and Sumiyoshi. The Empress Consort does as commanded, and then finds herself successful in her political ambitions (ambushing and killing her rivals for the throne). Ever since then, Hirota Shrine has held some importance for the Emperor of Japan.
According to the English-language brochure available at the shrine[1], in the 11th century, under Emperor Shirakawa, Hirota Shrine was designated as "...one of the twenty-two honorable shrines in the nation..." and given the title "Hirota Grand Shrine". It is now the "...only grand shrine in the prefecture of Hyōgo". Other shrines in Hyōgo may use the term "taisha" (grand shrine), but they are without the Imperial distinction that sets Hirota Shrine apart. It may be significant that the brochure that makes the claim about Hirota being the only "grand shrine" in Hyōgo does not use the term "taisha". The title of the brochure is simply "廣田神社" (Hirota jinja).
The shrine is also famous for its kobanomitsuba tsutsuji, azaleas with three small leaves.
[edit] Events
From the brochure "Hirota Shinto shrine (jinja)" available from the shrine.
- January 1: Sai-tan-sai
- January 3: Gen-shi-sai
- January 1-3: Kai-un-sai
- January 18-19: Yaku-yoke-sai
- February 11: Ki-gen-sai
- February 17: Ki-nen-sai (Taisai)
- March 16: Rei-sai (Taisai)
- April 16: Haru matsuri (Spring festival)
- Late May: Hirota Ohtaue (Rice planting festival)
- June 30: Nagoshi no oohara eshiki
- July 16: Natsu matsuri (Summer festival)
- Late September: Neki-ho-sai
- October 16: Aki matsuri (Autumn festival)
- November 3: Mei-ji-sai
- November 23: Nii-name-sai (Taisai)
- December 23: Ten-chou-sai
- First day of each month: Tsuki hajime sai, Hatsu hokou-sai
- Sixteenth day of each month: Tsuki-name-sai
- Every morning: Asa-mi-ke-sai, Yuu-mi-ke-sai
[edit] References
- ^ "Hirota Shinto shrine (jinja)", undated brochure available at the shrine.
Some of this article's contents are derived from the Hirota Jinja article on the Japanese Wikipedia.
