A giant doll Jizo statue is enshrined within the grounds! Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine in Yuzawa City (Akita Prefecture)

Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture. This area is famous as the birthplace of Ono no Komachi and the birthplace of Inaniwa udon at Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine , you can see the unique custom of creating and worshiping guardian deities made from natural objects, known as "doll Dosojin."

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The history of Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine

Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine is a shrine located within Millennium Park (the site of Iwasaki Castle) in the Iwasaki district of Yuzawa City

According to the legend handed down at the shrine, the shrine dates back to 1087, when no Yoshiie, also known as Hachiman Taro was struggling against the forces of Kiyohara Iehira and Takehira in the Battle of Kanazawa Saku during the Gosannen War. He prayed for victory here, inviting a branch of the spirit of Hachiman, the clan deity of the Minamoto clan, and donating his armor to the shrine.

As time passed, in 1803, Satake Yoshikazu, the ninth lord of the Akita domain, ordered the stirrups donated by Minamoto no Yoshiie to be placed in the domain's treasury. In exchange, Kano Shusui and the three characters "Stirrups Hachiman" written by Yoshikazu himself was donated to the shrine.

The main hall, which has been designated a tangible cultural property of Yuzawa City, is decorated with many magnificent carvings, including dragons, lions, and sumo wrestler statues supporting the roof on all four sides. However, there is currently a protective fence in place, presumably to prevent deterioration, making it impossible to see the details

The annual festival is held on September 10th every year, and there are two shrines within the grounds, Mizujinja Shrine and Takatsujijinja Shrine, and the four enshrined deities are Homutawake no Mikoto, Takirihime no Mikoto, Takitsuhime no Mikoto, and Emperor Ojin

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A giant doll Jizo statue enshrined at the back of the shrine "Mizujinja"

"Dosojin" is a type of folk belief that is mainly placed at the boundaries of villages and settlements and worshipped as a kind of "guardian deity" or "barrier" that has the role of driving away "evil things" such as epidemics and evil spirits.

Because of its role of "protecting and prospering the village" and the fact that it is "often seen on the roadside," it is also said to be the "god of matchmaking" and the "guardian deity of travelers."

They exist all over Japan, and are generally found as stone monuments with the word "Dosojin" engraved on them, but in Akita Prefecture, "doll Dosojin" statues in human form using natural materials such as wood, straw, and stone is still deeply rooted in many areas.

In the grounds of Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine, there are two giant doll Jizo statues, each around 3-4m tall

From the worship hall of Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine, go left..

After walking a little further, you will see the shrine within the grounds, "Mizujinja Shrine." Continue further to the left of this shrine..

Then, in the back, there was a huge straw doll..

This is a doll Jizo statue called "Suehirocho Kashima-sama," , there is also a doll Jizo statue of almost the same size called "Sakaemachi Kashima-sama."

*Kashima-sama can be written as "Kashima-sama" or "Kashima-sama" depending on the region, so for now we will stick to the katakana spelling "Kashima-sama."

Kashima-sama in Suehirocho

"Kashimasama of Suehirocho" is the guardian deity of Suehirocho in the Iwasaki district of Yuzawa City, and was originally enshrined on the border between Suehirocho and other towns.

Its huge and impressive appearance makes it a representative example of Akita's doll Jizo statues, and it was even exhibited at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival held at the National Mall in Washington, USA in 1986

However, it was not brought directly from this area; three men from Akita traveled to the United States and created and exhibited a straw doll modeled after Kashima-sama in Suehirocho

When you get closer, you'll see that it's cuter than you'd think, but its tightly closed mouth gives it a brave, valiant look. Just as you'd expect from a guardian deity

Kashima-sama of Sakaemachi

The Sakaemachi Kashima-sama in a shed just before the Suehirocho Kashima-sama . Both statues are roughly the same size, but this Kashima-sama has a rather frightening expression with its fanged mouth wide open.

In fact, Kashima-sama is said to have a male and female gender, with the Kashima-sama in Sakae-cho being a male god and the Kashima-sama in Suehiro-cho being a female god. This may be one of the reasons why the Kashima-sama in Suehiro-cho appears to have a gentle expression

Bonus: Kashima-sama in Midori-cho along National Route 13

"Midoricho Kashima-sama" along the road a little north of Shimoyuzawa Station on National Route 13 on the Ou Main Line . A giant straw doll suddenly appears along the national highway, so it is quite surprising when you see it for the first time.

This is also the male god Kashima-sama, with a magnificent penis and bushy armpit hair, making his gender the most clearly expressed of the three

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summary

During the Meiji period, many customs were eliminated as "outdated customs" due to the government's modernization policies. The "Doll Jizo Statue" in the Iwasaki district was also influenced by this, and it is said to have been moved from its original location at the "entrance to the town/village" to the very back of Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine, where it was hidden

The "Doll Dosojin" custom is a unique local custom that has been passed down to the present day, overcoming such adversity. I hope it will continue to be passed down for many years to come

[Reference materials]

• Yuzawa City Official Website – Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine Main Hall
• Akita Doll Jizo Shrine

Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine <Information>

• Name: Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine
• Address: 283 Iwasaki Sennen, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture, 012-0801
• Phone number: 0183-62-4825
• Official URL: Akita Prefecture Shrine Association – Iwasaki Hachiman Shrine

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