Hotaka Shrine
{{Short description|Shinto shrine in Japan}}
{{Expand Japanese|穂高神社|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox religious building
| religious_affiliation = Shinto
| image = Hotaka-jinja kaguraden and haiden.jpg
| deity = all the deities of its province,
{{ill|Utsushihikanasaku|ja|宇都志日金拆命}},
| type = Sōja shrine
}}
Hotaka Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Hotaka, Azumino, Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.{{Cite web |title=Explore Azumino! - Hotaka Shrine |url=https://azumino-e-tabi.net/en/sightseeing/hotaka-shrine |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=Explore Azumino! |publisher=Japan Tourism Agency |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2017-09-03 |title=Japanese ghost spot: Hotaka Shrine {{!}} Kowabana |url=https://www.kowabana.net/2017/09/03/hotaka-shrine/ |access-date=2023-10-26 |language=en-AU}}{{Cite web |title=HIKES IN JAPAN |url=https://hikesinjapan.yamakei-online.com/ |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=hikesinjapan.yamakei-online.com}}{{Cite book |last=Moon |first=Okpyo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REDpAAAAIAAJ&dq=Hotaka+Shrine&pg=PA157 |title=From Paddy Field to Ski Slope: The Revitalisation of Tradition in Japanese Village Life |date=1989 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-2957-8 |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lcMRAQAAMAAJ&q=Hotaka+Shrine |title=Geographical Review of Japan |date=2003 |publisher=Association of Japanese Geographers |language=en}} It is one of the three main shrines in Shinano Province. The Engishiki Jinmyocho describes it as a Myojin Taisha and it is now a Beppyo shrine.
It is a Sōja shrine. It enshrines all the kami of the shrines in Shinano Province. Whenever a new governor of Shinano Province was appointed he would be sent to the shrine to worship all the gods of the province.{{cite book |last1=Bocking |first1=Brian |title=A Popular Dictionary of Shinto |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1138979079}}
Ichinomiya and Soja are not the same thing but were sometimes combined.https://archive.today/20230428181137/https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/id=8841 Encyclopedia of Shinto In this case the Suwa-taisha is the Province's Ichinomiya.{{cite wikisource|first=William George|last=Aston|Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697|year=1896|chapter=Book XXX|pages=403-404}}[http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/images/uploads/EOS070712Ab.pdf "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 2.]; retrieved 2011-08-010Tanigawa (1987). p. 130.Inoue (2003). pp. 362-371.
Many people pray here before hiking in the Japanese Alps. It is located near Mount Hotakadake, a major Japanese mountain.{{cite web |title=Chūbu-Sangaku National Park |url=http://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/parks/chubu.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227172634/http://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/parks/chubu.html |archivedate=February 27, 2012 |accessdate=November 21, 2011 |publisher=Ministry of the Environment (Japan)}}
The shrine is near Hotaka Station, and located in a Chinju no Mori or sacred forest full of Japanese cedar and pine trees.https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/common/001562761.pdf
Two main gods are important here. The sea god Watatsumi, and his son, Hotakami no Mikoto ({{ill|Utsushihikanasaku|ja|宇都志日金拆命}}) the tutelary deity of the Azumi people.{{Cite web |date=2020-10-01 |title=Mt. Hotaka also have deities enshrined, and these deities are as their tutelaries : JINJA-GAKU 3 {{!}} HIKES IN JAPAN |url=https://hikesinjapan.yamakei-online.com/topics/jinjagaku03.php |access-date=2023-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001062231/https://hikesinjapan.yamakei-online.com/topics/jinjagaku03.php |archive-date=2020-10-01 }} and their ancestor.{{Cite web |title=Ofune Matsuri – A Unique Festival in Nagano, Japan! - Festivals & Events｜COOL JAPAN VIDEOS｜A Website With Information About Travel, Culture, Food, History, and Things to Do in Japan |url=https://cooljapan-videos.com/en/articles/au3wf7b2 |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=cooljapan-videos.com |language=en}} Hotakami no Mikoto is said to have descended to earth on the nearby Mount Hotakadake.{{Cite web |title=Kamikochi - A Place of Special Importance |url=https://www.snowmonkeyresorts.com/activities/kamikochi/a-place-of-special-importance |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=SNOW MONKEY RESORTS}}
History
The shrine was founded by Azumi people who migrated from Kyushu. The migrants searched extensively across Japan until they eventually found the Azumino valley and settled there, giving up their nautical lifestyle for an agricultural one. This is why the shrine worships the sea gods Watatsumi and {{ill|Utsushihikanasaku|lt=Hotakami|ja|宇都志日金拆命}} despite being inland. It is an agriculturally focused shrine.
In 927 it was listed as a Myojin Taisha of the Engishiki Jinmyocho.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA178&dq= "Engi-shiki"] in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 178. It was well known across Japan in the tenth century.
Architecture
The shrine has several buildings:
- Kaguraden: This is used for ceremonies.
- Haiden: People pray and offer rituals here.
- Honden: These are three small buildings for gods. The central one is for Hotakami no Mikoto.
The buildings are rebuilt every twenty years in the process of Sengu. This keeps old building methods alive.
Myojin Pond
File:Myojin Pond Ichino-ike 01.JPG
At the Hotaka Shrine in Azumino City, there is an annual festival at which people express their gratitude for the gift of water. In the city, there is a traditional spot in which all three rivers (Azusa, Karasu and Nakabusa), as well as the water from the melted snow of Kamikochi's mountains, meet. Kamikochi mountain holds a great significance to the Azumi people as the water which flowed down this mountain was once used to irrigate their crops.{{Cite web |last=Habington |first=Will |date=12 June 2012 |title=Azusa - Nature and Culture Flow as One in the Sacred River |url=http://www.kamikochi.org/history/asusa-nature-and-culture-flow-as-one-in-the-sacred-river-2- |access-date=19 May 2020 |website=Kamikochi}} Using this water, the people of Japan perform the rituals known as "Omizu-tori" (taking water) and "Omizu-gaeshi" (returning water), whereby the water is deemed to rightfully return to the Myojin Pond. During this celebration, the Azumi People commemorate their direct connection to water and their gratitude for it as it has always assisted them – both in their history as skilful seafarers and crop farmers.{{Cite book |last=Rambelli |first=F |title=The Sea and The Sacred in Japan |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic Publishing |year=2018 |isbn=978-1350062870 |location=Camden |pages=preface}}
The Myojin Pond in Kamikochi, Japan attracts both traditional descendants of the Azumi people, as well as tourists. It has a clear, mirror-like reflection, and is classified as one of the most revered places to worship the deities of the Azumi people.{{Cite web |last=Takeshi |date=3 October 2019 |title=Myojin-ike Pond |url=https://www.findnewjapan.com/nature/myojin-pond-%E6%98%8E%E7%A5%9E%E6%B1%A0/ |access-date=19 May 2020 |website=Find New Japan}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}
Today, the Myojin Pond accommodates many visitors as the water that lays within is a reminder of the culture, tradition, and history of the Azumi people.{{Cite web |last=Andriyenko |first=L |date=15 March 2011 |title=The Azumi Basin in Japan and Its Ancient People |url=http://voices.yahoo.com/the-azumi-basin-japan-its-ancient-people-8034946.html?cat=37 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231151129/http://voices.yahoo.com/the-azumi-basin-japan-its-ancient-people-8034946.html?cat=37 |archive-date=2013-12-31 |access-date=18 May 2020 |website=Web Archive}}
Branch shrines
Festivals{{Anchor|Ship Festival}}
Every year, there is a big festival. The festival celebrates local gods and the sea.
The Shrine has an {{ill|Ofune Matsuri|ja|お船祭}}, or ship festival every September.{{Cite web |title=Explore Azumino! - Ofune Matsuri (wooden boat parade) |url=https://azumino-e-tabi.net/en/event/ofune-matsuri |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=Explore Azumino! |publisher=Japan Tourism Agency |language=en-US}}
Obisha Matsuri is held every March.{{Cite web |title=Explore Azumino! - Obisha Matsuri (Shinto ritual) |url=https://azumino-e-tabi.net/en/event/obisha |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=Explore Azumino! |publisher=Japan Tourism Agency |language=en-US}} Priests shoot arrows at targets. It is said if they accurately hit the target there will be a good harvest. Visitors take the arrows home with them for good luck.
Deities
{{Three generations of Hyuga}}
Gallery
File:Hotaka-jinja kaguraden and haiden.jpg|Hotaka Shrine General View
File:Hotaka-jinja Kaguraden.jpg|Scenic View of Hotaka Shrine
File:View of Hotaka-jinja through torii with patriotic flags.jpg|View of ther Honden through Torii
File:150921 Hotaka-jinja Azumino Nagano pref Japan04n.jpg|alt=
File:Hotaka-jinja Subshrines.jpg|alt=
File:Hotaka jinja Setsumatsusha Azumino Nagano pref Japan06n.jpg|Hotaka Shrine and Surroundings
File:Hotaka-jinja Ema.jpg|Hotaka Shrine Serene View
File:150921 Hotaka-jinja Azumino Nagano pref Japan08n.jpg|Hotaka Shrine and Its Environment
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File:Hotaka Shrine (49784173488).jpg|Hotaka Shrine Close-up
File:Hotaka-jinja chozusha.jpg|Hotaka Shrine Chozusha (Purification Trough)
File:Hotaka-jinja haiden-2.jpg|Hotaka Shrine Haiden (Worship Hall) View
File:Hotaka-jinja haiden-3.jpg|Another Angle of Hotaka Shrine Haiden
File:Hotaka-jinja haiden.JPG|Front View of Hotaka Shrine Haiden
File:Hotaka-jinja honden.JPG|Hotaka Shrine Honden (Main Hall)
File:Hotaka-jinja Hotaka-maru-2.jpg|Hotaka Shrine Hotaka-maru (Sacred Ship)
File:Hotaka-jinja Hotaka-maru.JPG|Close-up of Hotaka Shrine's Hotaka-maru
File:Hotaka-jinja kaguraden-2.jpg|Hotaka Shrine Kaguraden (Dance Hall) View
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File:Hotaka-jinja keidai.JPG|alt=
File:Hotaka-jinja ofune.JPG|alt=|Ofune (sacred boats)
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File:Hotaka-jinja ootorii.JPG|Torii
File:Hotaka-jinja shinkyo-2.jpg|Sacred Bridge
File:Hotaka-jinja shinkyo.JPG|Sacred Bridge
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File:Hotaka-jinja torii.JPG|Hotaka Shrine Main Torii Gate
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File:Hotaka-Jinja.JPG|Torii
File:Hotaka-jinja00n1800.jpg|Torii
File:Hotaka-jinja01s1600.jpg|Torii
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File:Hotaka-jinja14bs5s2040.jpg|alt=|{{ill|Kamiura|lt=Sacred horse|ja|神馬}} statue
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See also
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
{{Commons category|Hotaka jinja}}
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- {{cite book |author=Oh, Amana ChungHae |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hxulspIN_2UC |title=Cosmogonical Worldview of Jomon Pottery |date=2011 |publisher=Sankeisha |isbn=978-4-88361-924-5}}
- {{cite book |url=http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/9572217 |title=諏訪市史 上巻 原始・古代・中世 (Suwa Shishi, vol. 1: Genshi, Kodai, Chūsei) |date=1995 |editor=Suwa Shishi Hensan Iinkai |location=Suwa |language=ja}}
- {{cite book |title=日本の神々―神社と聖地〈9〉美濃・飛騨・信濃 (Nihon no kamigami: Jinja to seichi, vol. 9: Mino, Hida, Shinano) |date=1987 |publisher=Hakusuisha |isbn=978-4-560-02509-3 |editor1-last=Tanigawa |editor1-first=Kenichi |language=ja}}
- {{cite book |title=諏訪明神 －カミ信仰の原像 (Suwa Myojin: Kami shinkō no genzō) |date=2010 |publisher=Iwata Shoin |isbn=978-4-872-94608-6 |editor1-last=Terada |editor1-first=Shizuko |language=ja |editor2-last=Washio |editor2-first=Tetsuta}}
- {{cite book |author1=Ueda, Masaaki |title=御柱祭と諏訪大社 (Onbashira-sai to Suwa Taisha) |author2=Gorai, Shigeru |author3=Miyasaka, Yūshō |author4=Ōbayashi, Taryō |author5=Miyasaka, Mitsuaki |date=1987 |publisher=Chikuma Shobō |isbn=978-4-480-84181-0 |location=Nagano |language=ja}}
- {{cite book |title=諏訪大社 (Suwa Taisha) |date=1986 |publisher=Ginga shobō |editor1-last=Yazaki |editor1-first=Takenori |series=Ginga gurafikku sensho |volume=4 |language=ja}}
{{Watatsumi Faith}}