Torii of Osaki Hachiman Shrine

[Miyagi] Osaki Hachiman Shrine, a national treasure famous for its naked pilgrimage during the Donto Festival

Osaki Hachimangu Shrine is a shrine located in the west side of Aoba Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, along the Sakunami Kaido road that runs from the city center of Sendai City, a government-designated city, to Sakunami Onsen, a well-known hot spring resort.

The former status of the shrine was a village shrine, and the deities enshrined are Emperor Ojin, Emperor Chuai, and Empress Jingu.

Momoyama-style shrine building designated as a national treasure

The exact date of Osaki Hachiman Shrine's founding is unknown, but during the Heian period, Sakanoue Tamuramaro, who was entrusted by the imperial court with the conquest of Ezo in the Tohoku region, solicited Hachiman, the god of war, from Usa Jingu in present-day Oita City. It is said that the shrine began when it was enshrined inside Izawa Castle, which had a military base and was a front-line base for political parties. For this reason, the original name was Chinjufu Hachimangu Shrine.

Later, during the Muromachi period, the Osaki clan, which was a member of the Ashikaga shogunate family and had gained a dominant position in the Tohoku region as the Oshu Kanrei, transferred this Chinju Hachimangu Shrine to their own territory. It is said that from then on it came to be called Osaki Hachimangu Shrine. During the Warring States period, the Osaki clan gradually lost power as they competed for supremacy with the local Kokujin class, and when Toyotomi Hideyoshi came to rule the country, he was ordered to resign for not participating in the attack on Hojo in Odawara. It will be.

Date Masamune, who subsequently came to rule this area, moved his base from Iwadeyama Castle, located in present-day Osaki City, Sendai City, to Sendai Castle, commonly known as Aoba Castle, in Sendai City, located in the direction of Sendai Castle. A new shrine building for Osaki Hachimangu Shrine will be constructed at the current location. The shrine donated by Date Masamune is built in the Gongen style, painted entirely in black lacquer, and studded with shiny gold decorative metal fittings.It is now designated as a national treasure as it represents the essence of Momoyama architecture. .

Osaki Hachiman Shrine Main Hall
Main hall of Osaki Hachimangu Shrine during the annual festival

Various festivals are held at Osaki Hachimangu Shrine, but the annual festival in September in particular features Noh Kagura, which has been designated as an intangible folk cultural property by Miyagi Prefecture, and Yabusame, which has been practiced since the days of the Sendai Domain. It's a lively event. Also, because it is located in the dry direction of Sendai Castle, it is widely worshiped by people born in the year of the dog or the year of the boar, and this tradition continues even today.

Osaki Hachimangu Shrine＜Information＞

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