Mishima Taisha

The Mishima Taisha (三嶋大社) is a Shinto shrine located in the city of Mishima in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is the ichinomiya of former Izu Province[1] as well as its Sōja shrine. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on August 16, and features yabusame performances.[2]

Mishima Taisha
三嶋大社
Honden of Mishima Taisha
Religion
AffiliationShinto
DeityMishima Daimyōjin
FestivalAugust 16
Location
Location1-5 Omiya-chō 2-chōme, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-0035
Mishima Taisha is located in Shizuoka Prefecture
Mishima Taisha
Shown within Shizuoka Prefecture
Mishima Taisha is located in Japan
Mishima Taisha
Mishima Taisha (Japan)
Geographic coordinates35°07′19″N 138°55′08″E
Website
www.mishimataisha.or.jp
Glossary of Shinto

Enshrined kami
  • Mishima Daimyōjin (三嶋大明神), an amalgamation of Ōyamatsu-no-mikoto (大山祇命) and his consort Tsumihayae Kotoshironushi no kami (積羽八重事代主神)

History

The date of Mishima Taisha's foundation is unknown. Per shrine tradition and Nara period records, the predecessor of the shrine may have originally located on Miyakejima but was transferred later from place to place. It first appears in national chronicles in the Nihon Kōki in an entry date 832, with the location given as being in Kamo county, which is in the southern part of Izu Peninsula, near modern Shimoda. Subsequent mentions in the Nihon Montoku Tennō Jitsuroku (850, 852, 854), the Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku (859, 864) and the Ruijū Kokushi (868) mention the shrine, but not its location. By the time of the Engishiki in 927 AD, the shrine's location is listed as being in Tagata county, or its present location.

Mishima Taisha was greatly revered by Minamoto no Yoritomo after he was exiled to Izu, and he made prayers at the shrine at the start of his struggle to overthrow the Heike clan in the Genpei War. After the successful establishment of the Kamakura shogunate, he rebuilt the shrine on a large scale, and worship of the Mishima Daimyōjin became popular with the samurai class. The shrine continued to be supported by Yoritomo's successors, especially the fourth Shogun Kujō Yoritsune. During the Sengoku period the kami of Mishima Taisha came to be associated with victory in battle, and the shrine was patronized by the Odawara Hōjō, the Imagawa clan and the Tokugawa clan.

It may have been used as the Izu Province Sōja shrine

During the Edo period, Mishima Taisha and its associated post town of Mishima-shuku prospered as a popular pilgrimage stop on the Tōkaidō highway between Edo and Kyoto. Its torii gate was depicted in an ukiyo-e print by Hiroshige. A calendar issued by the shrine was carried home by pilgrims from all over Japan, and was known as the "Mishima Calendar".

During the Meiji period era of State Shinto, the shrine was designated as an Imperial shrine, 1st rank (官幣大社, Kokuhei Taisha) under the Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines in 1871, meaning that it stood in the first rank of government supported shrines.[3] However, its name was not changed from "Mishima Jinja" to "Mishima Taisha" until after World War II.

Cultural properties

National Treasures
  • Makiie Box with plum decorations and contents (梅蒔絵手箱 一具, Ume makietebako ichi gu), Heian period. The most important object in the Mishima Shrine collection is a Japanese lacquerware wooden box with maki-e decoration. The box measures 25.8 x 34.5 x 19.7 cm, and contains numerous utensils and articles used for women's cosmetics in the late Heian period. It is the oldest existing hand box that has its original contents. It was donated to the shrine by Hōjō Masako. It is listed as one of the National Treasures of Japan from 1900.[4][5]

Important Cultural Properties

Natural Monuments
  • Honden
    Honden
  • Maidono
    Maidono
  • Jinmon
    Jinmon
  • Haiden
    Haiden
  • Osmanthus fragrans tree
    Osmanthus fragrans tree
  • Geinōden
    Geinōden
  • Main Gate
    Main Gate

See also

Notes
  1. Shibuya, Nobuhiro (2015). Shokoku jinja Ichinomiya Ninomiya San'nomiya (in Japanese). Yamakawa shuppansha. ISBN 978-4634150867.
  2. Plutschow. Matsuri: The Festivals of Japan. Page 173
  3. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 125.
  4. Earle. Splendors of Imperial Japan
  5. "梅蒔絵手箱" [Ume makie tebako] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  6. "短刀〈表ニ三島大明神他人不与之／裏ニ貞治三年藤原友行ノ銘アリ〉" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  7. "太刀〈銘宗忠／〉書" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  8. "短刀〈表ニ三島大明神他人不与之／裏ニ貞治三年藤原友行ノ銘アリ〉" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  9. "般若心経（源頼家筆）" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  10. "三嶋大社矢田部家文書" [Mishima Jinja Yatabe family documents] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  11. "三島神社のキンモクセイ" [Mishima Jinja Kinmokusei] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2020.

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References
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