Sōja shrine
Sōja (総社) is a type of Shinto shrine where the kami of a region are grouped together into a single sanctuary. This "region" may refer to a shōen, village or geographic area, but is more generally referred to a whole province. The term is also occasionally called "sōsha". The sōja are usually located near the provincial capital established in the Nara period under then ritsuryō system, and can either be a newly created shrine, or a designation for an existing shrine. The "sōja" can also be the "ichinomiya" of the province, which themselves are of great ritual importance.[1]
Whenever a new kokushi was appointed by the central government to govern a province, it was necessary for him to visit all of the sanctuaries of his province in order to complete the rites necessary for ceremonial inauguration. Grouping the kami into one location near the capital of the province greatly facilitated this duty,[2]
The first mention of "sōja" appeared in the Heian period, in the diary of Taira no Tokinori, dated March 9, 1099 in reference to the province of Inaba. [3]
The name "Sōja" is also found in place names such as the city of Sōja in Okayama Prefecture.
Provincial Soja Shrines
Region | Province | Shrine | Location | Shrine ranking | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Engishiki Jinmyocho | Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines | Beppyo? | ||||
Kinai | Yamashiro | unknown | ||||
Yamato | unknown | Takatori, Nara | ||||
Kawachi | Shikiagatanushi Shrine | Fujiidera, Osaka | Shikinai Taisha | Son-sha | ||
Izumi | Izumi Inoue Shrine | Izumi, Osaka | Fuken-sha | |||
Settsu | Nanba Shrine[lower-alpha 1] | Fuken-sha | ||||
Tōkaidō | Iga Province | unknown | ||||
Ise | Inatomi Shrine | Suzuka, Mie | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | ||
Miyake Shrine | Suzuka, Mie | Shikinai Shosha | Son-sha | |||
Shima | Kokufu Shrine | Shima, Mie | Son-sha | |||
Owari | Owari Ōkunitama Shrine | Inazawa, Aichi | Shikinai Shosha | Kokuhei Shōsha | Yes | |
Mikawa | Mikawa Sōja | Toyokawa, Aichi | Ken-sha | |||
Tōtōmi | Ōmikunitama Shrine | Iwata, Shizuoka | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | ||
Suruga | Shizuoka Sengen Shrine (Kambe Junja) | Shizuoka, Shizuoka | Shikinai Shosha | Kokuhei Shōsha | Yes | |
Izu | Mishima Taisha[lower-alpha 2] | Mishima, Shizuoka | Kanpei Taisha | |||
Kai | Kaina Shrine 1st location | Fuefuki, Yamanashi | Shikinai Shosha | Son-sha | ||
Kaina Shrine 2nd location | Fuefuki, Yamanashi | Shikinai Shosha | Son-sha | |||
Miyamae-cho Hachimangu (3rd location) | Kōfu, Yamanashi | Ken-sha | ||||
Sagami | Rokusho Shrine | Ōiso, Kanagawa | Gō-sha | |||
Musashi | Ōkunitama Shrine | Fuchū, Tokyo | kanpei-shōsha | Yes | ||
Awa | Rokusho Shrine | Tateyama, Chiba | Unknown | |||
Tsuruya Hachiman Shrine (2nd location) | Tateyama, Chiba | Ken-sha | ||||
Kazusa | Togakushi Shrine | Ichihara, Chiba | Son-sha | |||
Iigaoka Hachimangu (2nd location) | Ichihara, Chiba | Ken-sha | ||||
Shimōsa | Rokusho Shrine | Ichikawa, Chiba | Son-sha | |||
Hitachi | Hitachi-no-Kuni Sōshagū | Ishioka, Ibaraki | Ken-sha | |||
Tōsandō | Ōmi | unknown | ||||
Mino | Nangū Otabi Shrine | Tarui, Gifu | Setsumatsusha | |||
Hida | Hida Sōja | Takayama, Gifu | Ken-sha | |||
Shinano | Shinano Omiya Shrine | Ueda, Nagano | Ken-sha | |||
Iwa Shrine (2nd location) | Matsumoto, Nagano | Son-sha | ||||
Kōzuke | Sōja Shrine | Maebashi, Gunma | Ken-sha | |||
Shimotsuke | Ōmiwa Shrine (Shimotsuke) | Tochigi, Tochigi | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | ||
Mutsu | Mutsu Sōsha-no-miya | Tagajō, Miyagi | Son-sha | |||
Dewa | Rokusho Shrine | Tsuruoka, Yamagata | Gō-sha | |||
Hokurikudō | Wakasa | Sō Shrine | Obama, Fukui | Son-sha | ||
Echizen | Sōja Daijingū | Echizen, Fukui | Ken-sha | |||
Kaga | Isobe Shrine | Komatsu, Ishikawa | Shikinai Shosha | Gō-sha | ||
Noto | Sōsha | Nanao, Ishikawa | Son-sha | |||
Etchū | Keta Shrine[lower-alpha 3] | Fuken-sha | ||||
Echigo | Fuchū Hachiman-gū | Jōetsu, Niigata | Unknown | |||
Sado | Sōsha Shrine | Sado, Niigata | Unknown | |||
San'indō | Tamba | Sō Shrine | Nantan, Kyoto | Unknown | ||
Tango | Kono Shrine[lower-alpha 4] | Kokuhei Chūsha | ||||
Tajima | Keta Shrine | Toyooka, Hyōgo | Shikinai Shosha | Gō-sha | ||
Inaba | unknown | |||||
Hōki | Kokuchōri Shrine (Sōja-daimyōjin) | Kurayoshi, Tottori | Shikigeisha | Ken-sha | ||
Izumo | Rokusho Shrine | Matsue, Shimane | Ken-sha | |||
Iwami | Ikan Shrine | Hamada, Shimane | Shikinai Shosha | Son-sha | ||
Oki | Tamawakasumikoto Shrine (Sōja-daimyōjin) | Okinoshima, Shimane | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | ||
Araki Shrine | Okinoshima, Shimane | Son-sha | ||||
San'yōdō | Harima | Itatehyōzu Shrine | Himeji, Hyōgo | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | Yes |
Mimasaka | Mimasaka Sōjagū | Tsuyama, Okayama | Ken-sha | |||
Bizen | Bizen-no-Kuni Sōjagū | Okayama, Okayama | Gō-sha | |||
Bitchū | Bitchū-no-kuni Sōjagū | Sōja, Okayama | Ken-sha | |||
Bingo | Ono Shrine | Fuchū, Hiroshima | Unknown | |||
Aki | unknown | |||||
Take Shrine | Fuchū, Hiroshima | Myojin Taisha | Ken-sha | |||
Suō | Saba Shrine | Hōfu, Yamaguchi | Ken-sha | |||
Nagato | Sōsha-gū (subshrine of Iminomiya Shrine) | Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi | Setsumatsusha | |||
Wakamiya Shrine | Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi | Unknown | ||||
Nankaidō | Kii | Fumori Shrine | Wakayama, Wakayama | Son-sha | ||
Awaji | Jūichimyōjin Shrine | Minamiawaji, Hyōgo | Son-sha | |||
Awa | Hachiman Sōsha Ryo Shrine | Tokushima, Tokushima | Son-sha | |||
Omiwa Shrine | Tokushima, Tokushima | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | |||
Sanuki | Sōja Shrine | Sakaide, Kagawa | Gō-sha | |||
Iyo | Ikanashi Shrine | Imabari, Ehime | Shikinai Shosha | Son-sha | ||
Tosa | Tosa Kokubun-ji | Nankoku, Kōchi | Gō-sha | |||
Saikaidō | Chikuzen | unknown | ||||
Chikugo | Kōra taisha | Kurume, Fukuoka | Kokuhei Taisha | |||
Buzen | Sōsha Hachiman-gū | Miyako, Fukuoka | Gō-sha | |||
Bungo | unknown | |||||
Hizen | unknown | |||||
Higo | Kitaoka Shrine | Kumamoto, Kumamoto | Fuken-sha | |||
Hyūga | Tsuma Shrine | Saito, Miyazaki | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | ||
Ōsumi | Haraido Shrine | Kirishima, Kagoshima | Son-sha | |||
Satsuma | Shukō Shrine subshrine of Nitta Shrine | Satsumasendai, Kagoshima | Setsumatsusha | |||
Iki | Kō Shrine | Iki, Nagasaki | Son-sha | |||
Tsushima | unknown | |||||
Hokkaido | Hakodate Hachimangū | Kokuhei Chūsha |
Regional Soja Shrines
Regional Soja Shrines are Soja shrines dedicated to a specific region rather than a whole province. These include
- Akasaka Uenoyama Shrine
- Unakoro Waki Shrine
- Ono Shrine (Ritto City)
- Ogami Shrine (Tonami City)
- Kainan Shrine
- Katsushika Shrine
- Katsube Shrine
- Mukuhashi Shrine
- Kotai Jingu (Fujisawa City)
- Gosho Shrine (Sammu City)
- Sakata Shinmei Shrine
- Shinkai Sansha Shrine
- Sazama Shrine (Daito City)
- Kenda Suga Shrine
- Tachibana Shrine (Kawasaki City)
- Torakashi Shrine
- Nagao Shrine
- Nanba Shrine (may have historically been a provincial one)
- Arayaza Amaterasu Mitama Shrine
- Nogi Shrine
- Hotaka Shrine
- Washinomiya Shrine
See also
Notes
- Theorized identification. No confirmation
- Theorized identification. No confirmation
- Theorized identification. No confirmation
- Theorized identification. No confirmation