Amatsu Shrine

Amatsu Shrine
Amatsu Shrine
天津神社
	Amatsu Shrine, July 2013
Religion
Affiliation	Shinto
Deity	Ninigi-no-Mikoto; Nunakawahime
Festival	April 10, Oct 24
Type	Ichinomiya
Location
Location	1-3-34 Ichinomiya, Itoigawa-shi, Niigata-ken
	Amatsu Jinja Amatsu Shrine (Japan)
Geographic coordinates	37°2′24.5″N 137°51′51.3″E / 37.040139°N 137.864250°E
	Glossary of Shinto

Amatsu Shrine (天津神社, Amatsu jinja) is a Shinto shrine located in the Ichinomiya neighborhood of the city of Itoigawa, Niigata, Japan.^[1] It is one of the three shrines claiming the title of ichinomiya of the former Echigo Province. ^[2] The main festivals of the shrine are held annually on April 10 and October 24.^[3]

Enshrined kami

The kami enshrined at Amatsu Jinja are:

Ninigi-no-Mikoto (瓊瓊杵尊), known here as Amatsuhikohikoho Ninigi no mikoto; grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, and the great-grandfather of Emperor Jimmu.^[1]
Ame-no-Koyane (天児屋根神), ancestor of the Fujiwara clan^[1]
Futodama no mikoto (太玉命), ancestor of the Imbe clan^[1]

History

Amatsu Jinja claims to have been founded during the reign of the semi-legendary Emperor Keikō (71 to 130 AD) in the Kofun period. Historical records state that Emperor Kōtoku (596-694 AD) had prayers said at this shrine, and its name appears in the Engishiki records compiled in 927 AD as the major shrine of ancient Kubiki County in Echigo, although it is by no means certain that the current Amatsu Shrine is the same shrine mentioned in these ancient records. In 1611, the Tokugawa shogunate awarded the shrine a stipend of 100 koku for its upkeep. After the Meiji Restoration and the establishment of State Shinto, the shrine was originally designated as a "county shrine", but was later raised in status to that of a prefectural shrine (県社). ^[4]

The Heiden of the shrine is an irimoya-style 7 x 5 bay building with a thatch roof built in 1662. The Haiden is a gabled 3x2 bay structure with a copper roof built in 1797.

The Bugaku performances held during the shrine's annual festival on April 10-11 are registered as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan.^[5]

The shrine is located a ten-minute walk from Itoigawa Station.^[6]

Subsidiary shrine

Within the shrine grounds is the Nunagawa Shrine (奴奈川神社, Nunagawa jinja), which also appears in the Engishiki records. The building is a one-bay structure with a Nagare-zukuri roof and was built in 1798.^[4]

Gallery

Honden（right）・Nunagawa Shrine（left）
Honden（Itoigawa City ICP）
Haiden
Emonjo
Torii

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kotodamaya.com, "Amatsu Jinja"; retrieved 2012-10-24.
^ "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 2 Archived 2013-05-17 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2012-3-13.
^ Shibuya, Nobuhiro (2015). Shokoku jinja Ichinomiya Ninomiya San'nomiya (in Japanese). Yamakawa shuppansha. ISBN 4634150867.
^ ^a ^b Yoshiki, Emi (2007). Zenkoku `Ichinomiya' tettei gaido (in Japanese). PHP Institute. ISBN 4569669301.
^ "天津神社舞楽" [Amatsu Jinja Bugaku] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
^ Okada, Shoji (2014). Taiyō no chizuchō 24 zenkoku `Ichinomiya' meguri (in Japanese). Heibonsha. ISBN 4582945619.

External links

Media related to Amatsu-jinja (Itoigawa) at Wikimedia Commons
Niigata Prefecture Kanko Navi (in Japanese)
Itoigawa tourist information (in Japanese)

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[kotodamayama-1] Kotodamaya.com, "Amatsu Jinja"; retrieved 2012-10-24.

[2] "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 2 Archived 2013-05-17 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2012-3-13.

[3] Shibuya, Nobuhiro (2015). Shokoku jinja Ichinomiya Ninomiya San'nomiya (in Japanese). Yamakawa shuppansha. ISBN 4634150867.

[Yoshiki-4] Yoshiki, Emi (2007). Zenkoku `Ichinomiya' tettei gaido (in Japanese). PHP Institute. ISBN 4569669301.

[Bunka1-5] "天津神社舞楽" [Amatsu Jinja Bugaku] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.

[Okada-6] Okada, Shoji (2014). Taiyō no chizuchō 24 zenkoku `Ichinomiya' meguri (in Japanese). Heibonsha. ISBN 4582945619.

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