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22-568: The architectural style Kasuga-zukuri takes its name from Kasuga Shrine's honden (sanctuary). The Torii at Kasuga-taisha is one of the oldest in Shinto and helped influence the style of Torii seen across much of Japan . Kasuga Shrine, and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest near it, are registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the " Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara ". The path to Kasuga Shrine passes through

44-576: A deer park. In the park, deer are able to roam freely and are believed to be sacred messengers of the Shinto gods that inhabit the shrine and surrounding mountainous terrain. Kasuga Shrine and the deer have been featured in several paintings and works of art of the Nambokucho Period . Over three thousand stone lanterns line the way. The Man'yo Botanical Garden is adjacent to the shrine. The birth of this shrine, according to legend, began when

66-508: A veranda. In Kasuga Taisha's case, the honden is just 1.9 m x 2.6 m. Supporting structures are painted vermilion, while the plank walls are white. It has a tsumairi (also called tsumairi-zukuri ) ( 妻入・妻入造 ) structure, that is, the building has its main entrance on the gabled side. The roof is gabled ( kirizuma yane ( 切妻屋根 , gabled roof ) ), decorated with purely ornamental poles called chigi (vertical) or katsuogi (horizontal), and covered with cypress bark. After

88-425: Is a Japanese mythological god of wind ( Fūjin ). Another name for this deity is Shinatobe, who originally may have been a separate goddess of wind. The Nihon Shoki stated that Shinatsuhiko was born after Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto created the great eight islands of Japan. After these lands were completed, Izanagi blew at the morning mists that obscured them and these became Shinatsuhiko, God of

110-686: Is a tradition based on the tokowaka (常若) concept of Shinto, in which objects are renewed in order to keep their divine prestige in pursuit of eternity. Like the Ise Grand Shrine, Kasuga-taisha has been rebuilding its shrines to the same specifications every 20 years for more than 1000 years since the Nara period, with the most recent reconstruction being the 60th rebuilding in 2016. During the festivals of Setsubun Mantoro (February 3) and Chugen Mantoro (August 14–15), three thousand shrine lanterns are all lit at once. The Setsubun Mantoro refers to

132-593: Is attributed to Shinatsuhiko no mikoto and Shinatsuhime who are kami of the winds. Wakamiya Jinja Shrine, created in 1135 CE, is one of the more prominent auxiliary shrines because it houses the kogami, or offspring kami called Ame no Oshikumono no mikoto. The primary worship here revolves around vengeful gods, and the dead and is the location of the Kasuga Wakamiya festival. The Treasure House at this shrine contains hundreds national treasures as well as about many other cultural properties, most of which are from

154-457: Is composed of five divine beings and each consists of a Buddhist deity and Shinto kami counterpart. The fifth deity, Ame-no-Oshikumone  [ ja ] , was added much later and is said to be the divine child of Ame no koyane and Himegami . The importance of the multifaceted kami was that it became a template for future worshipers who wanted to combine several deities to pray to at once. The architectural style of Kasuga-taisha comes from

176-404: Is dedicated to Takemikazuchi no mikoto , the second to Futsunushi no mikoto , the third to Amenokoyane no mikoto , and the final hall is attributed to the consort, Himegami . Several auxiliary shrines lie outside the main sanctuary that are dedicated to lesser kami. One is allotted to Tsunofuri no kami, that is commonly known as Tsubakimoto Jinja Shrine or Kayabusa Myojin. Kasenomiya Jinja Shrine

198-482: Is devoted to them which is Fujinami-no-ya Hall but the lanterns are only lit during the Setsubun Mantoro and Chugen Mantoro festivals. The four main kami each have a shrine devoted to them which are all in the same architectural style . They are characterized by sloping gabled roofs, a rectangular structure, katsuogi (decorative logs), and chigi (forked roof structures). The first hall established

220-612: Is noted that these names preceded Shinatsuhiko and Shinatobe. The Ise Grand Shrine contains temples, the Kaze-no-Miya (wind shrines), that hold betsugū (detached shrines) which enshrine the Shinatsuhiko-no-Mikoto and Shinatobe-no-Mikoto. In Yūtō, Shizuoka , the Oki-jinja Shrine is also dedicated to Shinatsuhiko-kami and his wife Shinatsuhime-kami. This article relating to Japanese mythology

242-495: Is regarded as a sacred hill. The forest backdrop of the Kasuga Grand Shrine's buildings today has been unchanged since the Nara period. Kasuga-zukuri Kasuga-zukuri ( 春日造 ) is a traditional Shinto shrine architectural style which takes its name from Kasuga Taisha 's honden . It is characterized by the use of a building just 1x1 ken in size with the entrance on the gabled end covered by

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264-457: The nagare-zukuri style, this is the most common Shinto shrine style. While the first is common all over Japan, however, shrines with a kasuga-zukuri honden are found mostly in the Kansai region around Nara . If a diagonal rafter (a sumigi ( 隅木 ) ) is added to support the portico, the style is called sumigi-iri kasugazukuri ( 隅木入春日造 ) . While superficially completely different,

286-540: The kasuga-zukuri actually shares an ancestry with the most popular style in Japan, the nagare-zukuri . The two for example share pillars set over a double-cross-shaped foundation and a roof which extends over the main entrance, covering a veranda. (The Kasuga-zukuri is the only tsumairi style to possess this last feature.) The foundation's configuration is typical not of permanent, but of temporary shrines, built to be periodically moved. This shows that, for example, both

308-413: The nagare-zukuri Kamo Shrine and Kasuga Taisha used to be dedicated to a mountain cult, and that they had to be moved to follow the movements of the kami . The styles also both have a veranda in front of the main entrance, a detail which makes it likely they both evolved from a simple gabled roof . Shinatsuhiko Shinatsuhiko ( Kojiki : 志那都比古神 - Long Blowing Lad, Nihon Shoki : 級長津彦命)

330-509: The Heian period. Some of the most noteworthy items that reside here are ornate taiko drums used in gagaku from the Kamakura period , arrows with crystal whistles from the Heian period, and bronze mirrors of the Heian and Nanboku-cho periods. Kasuga-taisha, like Ise Grand Shrine and Izumo-taisha , continues the tradition of shikinen zōtai (式年造替), the regular rebuilding of shrines. This

352-729: The Wakamiya Jinja shrine from December 15 to 18th each year. The main goal of this gathering was to ward off disease while promoting new growth for the spring. Like Kasuga Matsuri , attendants can see kagura performances along with a procession in traditional attire. Kasugayama Primeval Forest is primeval forest of about 250 hectares (620 acres) near the summit of Kasugayama (498 metres (1,634 ft)), and contains 175 kinds of trees, 60 bird types, and 1,180 species of insects. In this area adjacent to Kasuga Grand Shrine, hunting and logging have been prohibited since 841 CE. Because Kasugayama has long been tied to Kasuga Grand Shrine worship, it

374-519: The Wind. A Shinto liturgical text or ritual incantation called norito addressed the god in this masculine name while a different name - Shinatobe - was ascribed to what is presumed to be his feminine version. Some sources also called the wind deities Ame no Mihashira (pillar of Heaven) and Kuni no Mihashira (pillar of the Earth/Country) according to the belief that the wind supported the sky. It

396-636: The celebration of the seasonal shift from winter to spring while the Chugen Mantoro relates to the transition of summer to fall. They both take place in order to celebrate the Obon and Setsubun holidays in Japanese culture. At Kasuga Grand shrine, people are seen writing and attaching their wishes, or ema , to the lanterns before lighting them during both festivals. Additionally, it is said that tossing dried beans at these times will ward off bad luck in

418-664: The first kami of Kasuga-taisha, Takemikazuchi , rode on the back of a white deer to the top of Mount Mikasa in 768 CE. This kami is said to have traveled from the Kashima Jingu Shrine in order to protect Nara. The shrine location first received favor from the Imperial government in the Heian period as a result of the power from the Fujiwara family as well as Empress Shōtoku . From 1871 through 1946, Kasuga Shrine

440-607: The future. March 13 is the Kasuga Matsuri, a local festival which features the dances of gagaku and bugaku . Shinto women perform traditional Japanese Yamato-mai dances that date back to the Heian and Nara periods . This festival also holds a horse celebration which consists of a parade through the streets by a "sacred" horse. One will see people dressed in traditional costumes of the Heian to Edo periods and can experience authentic kagura dance displays with dengaku music. The Kasuga Wakamiya Festival takes place at

462-445: The name of its main hall ( honden ) known as Kasuga-zukuri . The shrine complex is protected by four cloisters and contains a main sanctuary, treasure house, several different halls, and large gates. One beautiful aspect of this shrine is the many wisteria trees known as " Sunazuri-no-Fuji " that bloom in late April and early May. This shrine is also home to over 3,000 lanterns which are made of either stone or bronze. An entire hall

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484-492: Was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha (官幣大社), meaning that it stood in the first rank of government supported shrines. The four main kami enshrined here are Ame no koyane , Himegami , Futsunushi no mikoto , and Takemikazuchi no mikoto . Though these are the primary divine beings of Kasuga taisha, they are often grouped together as a syncretic , combined deity known as Kasuga Daimyōjin . Kasuga Daimyōjin

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