Kushida-jinja is a Shinto shrine located in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.
Dedicated to Amaterasu and Susanoo, it is said to have been founded in 757.
The Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival is centred on the shrine. Hakata Gion
Yamakasa is a Japanese festival celebrated from the 1st until the 15th of July
in Hakata, Fukuoka. The festivities are centered on the Kushida Jinja. The
festival is famous for the Kakiyama, that weigh around one ton and are carried
around the city as an act of float-racing. The festival is believed to be over
770 years old and attracts up to a million spectators each year.
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Torii in front of the tower gate.
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Tower gate.
The rōmon (lit. tower gate) is one of two types of two-storied
gates used in Japan (the other one being the nijūmon).
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Even though it was originally developed by Buddhist architecture, it
is now used at both Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.
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Zodiac ebodian.
It is suspended on the ceiling of the tower gate, and the arrows are
rotated on New Year's Eve every year to indicate the grace of the new
year.
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In addition, the forehead of the tower gate "威稜" is read as
"Majesty" and means the majesty of the Son of Heaven and the Emperor.
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Temizuya cleansing ritual.
Steps: 1 - Give a slight bow towards the water basin. 2 - Hold the
dipper with your right hand to pour water on your left hand. 3 - Switch
hands and pour water on your right hand. 4 - Switch hands again, cup
your left and pour water inside. 5 - Use that to rinse your mouth. Do
not swallow. When you spit the water out, cover your mouth so as not to
be seen. 6 - Re-rinse your left hand once more. 7 - Pour out the
remaining water from the dipper, dip it one last time in the water for a
final purification and return it to its place.
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Please be sure to pick up enough water from the beginning so you do
not have to refill it multiple times. Try doing the whole purification
process in one fluid motion, at a respectively low level, so as to
keep water from falling back into the water basin.
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Reclining cow statue.
Shinshi or "divine messengers," are animals in Japanese mythology that
are believed to be associated with a kami, a divine being.
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In ancient texts such as Kojiki and Nihongi, there are tales of
special animals that acted on behalf of the kami to transmit the
divine will or to bear oracles.
- The cow is associated with Tenjin.
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See more at
Shinshi - Wikipedia.
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Statue of a sacred horse.
Shinme (or Jinme, sacred horse) is a term used to refer to a horse that
is dedicated to a Japanese shrine or one used in rites and festivals.
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There is no rule about the kinds of horses to be chosen, and they are
believed to be ridden by god (deities, spirits).
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Inner gate with guardian lions.
Komainu, often called lion-dogs in English, are statue pairs of
lion-like creatures either guarding the entrance or the honden, or inner
shrine of many Japanese Shinto shrines or kept inside the inner shrine
itself, where they are not visible to the public. The first type, born
during the Edo period, is called
sandō komainu (lit. 'entrance-road Komainu'), the second and much
older type jinnai komainu (lit. 'komainu inside the shrine').
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Meant to ward off evil spirits, modern komainu statues usually are
almost identical, but one has the mouth open, the other closed
(however, exceptions exist, where both komainu have their mouth either
open or closed). The two forms are called a-gyō (lit. '"a"
shape') and un-gyō (lit. '"un" shape') or referred to
collectively as a-un.
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Main hall.
The wood carvings of the Wind God and Thunder God on the left and right
sides of the gables in the worship hall are said to represent the
humorous nature of the Hakata children, with the wind god running away
from the thunder god with a bang.
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This god of wind and thunder is the motif of the tapestry displayed at
the Hakataza.
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Reisen crane well.
A sacred spring that springs from the basement of the main shrine and is
believed to be the water of life for immortality and longevity.
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Ema hall (Ema-do).
In some early Shinto and folk traditions of Japan, horses were seen as
carrying messages from the kami, and were usually used to transmit
requests during droughts or famines. Horses were extremely expensive,
and figures made of clay or wood have been found dating to the Nara
period. The earliest text record of a substitution is from the Honcho
Bunsui from 1013, in which an offering of three paper horses is made at
the Kitano Tenjin shrine. During the Kamakura period, the practice
entered into Buddhist practice, as evidenced in painted scrolls of ema
at Buddhist temples.
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Ema are left hanging up at the shrine, where the kami (spirits or
gods) are believed to receive them.
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Once inscribed with a wish, ema are hung at the shrine until they are
ritually burned at special events, symbolic of the liberation of the
wish from the writer.
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As a ritual, the ema is a means to communicate wishes to both priests
and the kami. The public nature of the ema, which are displayed at
shrines before their ritual burning, also serves a social function for
communicating to the community that an individual has made the wish.
Burning the wishes helps to "symbolically liberate" the spirit of the
wish into the world. In some cases, however, wishes are taken from the
shrine to be hung at home, though still ritually burned in special
ceremonies.
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See more at
Ema (Shinto) - Wikipedia.
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Inside the main hall.
The main deity is Ōbata (Kushida Shrine) in the main hall, Emperor
Amaterasu (Daijingu) in the left hall, and Susanoo (Gion-no-miya) in the
right hall.
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It has the oldest history as a soji god of Hakata, and enshrines
Emperor Amaterasu (Daijingu), Ōhata (Kushida-no-miya), and
Susano-o-miya (Gion-gu). It used to be enshrined in each of the three
shrines.
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It is said that the lord of Ōbata was enshrined by Emperor Koken in
the first year of Tenpei Hōji (757), and that the simple god was
solicited by Ono Yoshiko, the follow-up envoy of the Fujiwara Sumitomo
Rebellion in the 4th year of Tenkei (941), to dedicate victory. It
seems that the dedication of Emperor Amaterasu is too old and unclear
as a historical fact.
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See more at
Susanoo and Amaterasu - Wikipedia.
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Main deity.
The main deity is Ōbata in the main hall.
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Shrine maiden.
A miko, or shrine maiden, is a young priestess who works at a Shinto
shrine.
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Miko were once likely seen as shamans, but are understood in modern
Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life,
trained to perform tasks, ranging from sacred cleansing to performing
the sacred Kagura dance.
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The traditional attire of a miko is a pair of red
hakama (divided, pleated trousers), a white kosode (a
predecessor of the kimono), and some white or red hair ribbons.
- In Shinto, the color white symbolizes purity.
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See more at
Miko - Wikipedia.
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Couple Ginkgo (Fufu ginan).
The ‘married couple ginkgo tree’ (Fufu ginan) is a female tree with
three trunks which fruits in Autumn.
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This is a popular place for locals to pray for matchmaking and
matrimonial bliss.
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Yamakasa.
The floats, called Yamakasa, are divided into two groups. The Kakiyama
are the smaller, carryable floats, that are raced through the town,
while the Kazariyama are stationary floats, that are built up to 13
metres high and often depict historic or mythical events of Japanese
culture. Originally the Kakiyama and Kazariyama were one and the same,
with the large floats being carried through the city. However the
Yamakasa were split up in 1898 when the electrical power lines in Hakata
became too common for large Yamakasa to be carried through the streets.
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Kushida Shrine is a shrine where Hakata Gion Yamakasa is dedicated,
and decorative yamakasa are exhibited all year round except June.
Nicknamed "Mr. Kushida" by Hakata children, he is the general guardian
of Hakata.
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Hakata Gion Yamakasa is a festival of Gion Shrine held in July. The
entry into Kushida on July 7 is the climax of the festival.
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The decorative yamakasa of Kushida Shrine is on permanent display, but
it is rebuilt on July 7 every year.
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See more at
Hakata Gion Yamakasa - Wikipedia.
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Ebisu shrine.
Worshippers here pray to Ebisu, one of the Seven Lucky Gods of the
Shinto religion, in the hopes of enjoying prosperity in business or
auspicious family fortunes.
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Ebisu, also transliterated Webisu or called Hiruko or
Kotoshiro-nushi-no-kami, is the Japanese god of fishermen and luck. He
is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune (Shichifukujin), and the only one
of the seven to originate purely from Japan without any Buddhist or
Taoist influence.
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See more at
Ebisu (mythology) - Wikipedia.
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Sake barrels.
When displayed near a Shinto shrine, barrels of sake are called
kazaridaru, which means “decoration barrels.” As can be surmised,
the barrels on display are empty, at least in physical terms.
Spiritually, they’re chock full of significance.
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In Japan, sake has always been a way of bringing our gods and people
together.
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In some of the oldest texts the word used for sake is miki,
written with the characters for ‘god’ and ‘wine.’ People would go a
shrine festival and be given rice wine to drink, and they would feel
happy and closer to the gods.
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Kushida no Gi Nan.
It is said to be 1,000 years old and is a sacred tree that is a symbol
of longevity.
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In the Hakata celebration song, it is sung, "Well, it's a splendid
Kushida nogi.".
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Hakatabi Aramai Monument.
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Rikishi.
In the past, Usumi wrestling was actively held at Kushida Shrine, and
many famous sumo wrestlers dedicated stones that they lifted with great
strength.
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In recent years, the power stones of famous sumo wrestlers have been
dedicated.
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Ishido shrine.
Behind the lady is the stone of the object of worship in Ishido shrine.
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Kamado shrine.
Subordinate shrine within the precincts of Kushida Shrine.
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Kamado-jinja is a Shinto shrine located in Dazaifu, Fukuoka
prefecture, Japan. Located at the top of Mount Hōman, which has been
venerated from ancient times as a sacred mountain, the shrine is
dedicated to Tamayori-bime, Emperor Ōjin, and Empress Jingū.
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See more at
Kamado Shrine - Wikipedia.
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"Yamakasa Peeing Boy" Isao Nishijima.
Fountain sculpture of a little boy dressed in festival clothing taking a
pee.
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Shimekake Inari shrine.
An Inari shrine (Inari jinja) is a type of Japanese shrine used to
worship the kami Inari. Inari is a popular deity associated with foxes,
rice, household wellbeing, business prosperity, and general prosperity.
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Inari shrines are typically constructed of white stucco walls with
red-lacquered woodwork, and their entrances are marked by vermilion
torii.
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See more at
Inari shrine - Wikipedia.
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See also
Sources
Location
