[Miyagi Prefecture] The guardian deity of the Year of the Dragon and the Year of the Snake that enshrines the god of fire, Kagutsuchi! Atago Shrine on Mount Atago (Sendai City)

Atago Shrine , located in the southern part of the center of Sendai city and enshrined at the top of Mt. Atago is a famous shrine that is famous as a night view spot because it offers a panoramic view of Sendai city across the Hirose River

It is said that there are about 1,000 shrines in 43 prefectures across the country that bear the name "Atago", but this article will focus on Atago Shrine, which is located in Mukoyama, Taihaku Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, and the Atago shrine that gave its name. This is an introduction to faith.

What is Atago Shrine?

Atago Shrine is located on the top of Mt. Atago at an altitude of 75 meters, facing south from the center of Sendai city and across the Hirose River.

The main deity enshrined is Kagutsuchi, the god of fire .

and as a deity

• Amaterasu Omikami
• Toyouke Okami (Toyoukebime)
• Big God (Omononushinokami)
• Oyamakuinokami
• Okuninushi no Kami
• Hayatama Onokami
• Izanagi (Izanagi)
• Izanami (Izanami)
• 3 other gods

It enshrines 12 gods.

Since the god of fire is the god of fire, it is said to have the divine virtue of fire prevention and protection , and it protects the city of Sendai from fire disasters as it is overlooked from Mt. Atago.

The guardian deity of the Year of the Dragon and the Year of the Snake!

Before the separation of Shinto and Buddhism that occurred from the Edo period to the early Meiji period Fugenbosatsu was worshiped, and it was said that it protected people born in the Years of the Dragon and Snake , and was the guardian of Tatsumi Saisei for a generation. There is also divine virtue. (Because Fugen Bosatsu is said to protect the directions of the dragon and snake)

For this reason, it is also famous as one of the eight shrines that protect the Sendai Zodiac

Sendai Zodiac Guardian Principal Image

1. [Rat] - Zen Hospital Kannon Hall (Senju Kannon)
2. [Ox] [Tiger] Kokuzodo Daimanji Temple (Kokuzo Bodhisattva)
3. [Rabbit] ・Mount Washisu Manjusri Hall (Manjusri Bodhisattva)
4. [Dragon] [Snake] Atago Shrine (Fugen Bosatsu)
5. [Horse] ・Twenty-three nights hall (Seishi Bodhisattva)
6. [Sheep] [Monkey]・Dainichido (Dainichi Nyorai)
7. [Rooster] ・Mt. Mitaki Fudoin (Fudo Myoo)
8. [Dog] [Boar]・Osaki Hachiman Shrine (Amida Nyorai)

By the way, right next to Atago Shrine is the Kokuzo-do Hall of Daiman-ji Temple

Tohoku Rokken trivia media: NEFT

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[Miyagi Prefecture] Is this the origin of the place name Sendai? Daimanji Temple in Mukouyama, Taihaku Ward Kokuzoson's thousand standing Buddhas!

https://jp.neft.asia/archives/27976

Mt. Atago is located near Atagobashi Station on the Sendai Municipal Subway Namboku Line, on the way from central Sendai toward Nagamachi. This area is famous for Atago Shrine, and right behind it is Daimanji Kokuzoson. Enshrined here are 1,000 wooden Buddha statues, commonly known as Sentaibutsu, which are said to be the origin of the name ``Sendai''. General view of Daimanji A Soto sect temple that is said to have been founded by the Oshu Fujiwara clan Daimanji is a Soto sect temple that is said to have been founded by the Oshu Fujiwara clan.The mountain name is Kokuzozan and the principal image is Shakyamuni. Tathagata and Kokuzo Bodhisattva. The main hall (Phoenix Hall) of Daimanji Temple has been around for over 800 years...

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Atago Shrine, which moved many times with Lord Masamune

Atago Shrine originally existed in present-day Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, which was the headquarters of the Date clan during the Sengoku period.

However, during the Toyotomi regime in 1591, Lord Masamune was suspected of instigating the Kasai-Osaki uprising , and his estate was reduced from 720,000 koku of Yonezawa Castle to 580,000 koku of the 13 Kasai-Osaki groups of Iwadeyama. were moved together.

In 1601, after the Battle of Sekigahara, Lord Masamune, with permission from Tokugawa Ieyasu, moved his base to Sendai. Atago Shrine was also relocated to Sendai along with many other temples and shrines, but first it was Aramaki Village (Aramaki Village) moved to Mototera Koji , near the current Miyagi Prefectural Office. Ta.

By the way, there are many temples around this area, such as Jozenji and Manganji, and it is said that at that time it was called ``Terakoji''. After that, many temples were relocated, so it came to be called "Motodera Koji".

In 1650, the second lord of the Sendai domain, Date Tadamune, moved it to the present-day summit of Mt. Atago, along with Seiganji, which was a separate temple. In the same year, Kokuzoson Daimanji Temple, which is still adjacent today, was also relocated from Kyogamine.

Later, Seiganji, which was a separate temple, was abolished in the Meiji period, but Atago Shrine was enshrined with several shrines in the vicinity and in Sendai city due to the shrine reorganization policy at the end of the Meiji period, and has remained to this day. .

What is Atago faith?

Atago Shinko is a faith that originated from Atago Shrine, which is located at the top of Mt. Atago in Kyoto, and is said to have been spread throughout the country by ascetic ascetics.

As mentioned above, there are approximately 1,000 shrines in 43 prefectures across Japan that have "Atago" in their names. Most of them enshrine "Kagutsuchi no Mikoto" and "Izanami no Mikoto" as their deities, and they are particularly prevalent in the Tohoku region.

During the Sengoku period, Shogun Jizo was considered the main Buddha. Katsugun Jizo is a Jizo who wears a helmet and armor, holds a staff in his right hand, and a Nyoi jewel in his left hand, and rides a war horse.As the god of victory, he was worshiped by many samurai at the time. .

It may be because of this belief that whenever Lord Masamune moved his headquarters, Atago Shrine was always moved as well.

Eventually, when the era of war ended and the world became peaceful, he changed from the god of victory to the god of fire prevention, which continues to this day. Because of this connection, Atago's fair is held on the 24th of every month, the same as Jizo.

At the main gate, there is a statue of a tengu, said to be the messenger of Atago Okami.

are enshrined statues of a large tengu and a crow tengu , which are the largest in Japan

Tengu are said to be the guardian deities of Shugendo , and are also feared as the messengers and manifestations of Atago Okami.

I was wondering, "Why Tengu?", but it turns out it has this origin!

summary

In addition, within the grounds of Atago Shrine, there are shrines of other shrines that were relocated, and a cenotaph for those from Miyagi Prefecture who served on the warship Atago, which bore the same name, during the Pacific War.

As it is a night view spot, the view of Sendai city looking down from the precincts is also spectacular, so it is a shrine that not only people born in the Year of the Dragon or Snake, but everyone else should definitely visit at least once!

Atago Shrine (Sendai City) <Information>

• Name: Atago Shrine
• Address: 4-17-1 Mukaiyama, Taihaku-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture 982-0841
• Phone number: 022-223-6096
• Official URL: https://www.atago.org/

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