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123-645: (Redirected from Suwa Jinja ) Suwa Shrine ( 諏訪神社 , Suwa Jinja ) may refer to: Suwa shrine, part of the Shinto shrine network headed by Suwa taisha , in Nagano Prefecture Suwa Shrine (Nagasaki) , major Shinto shrine in Nagasaki, Japan Suwa Shrine (Tottori) , Shinto shrine in Chizu, Tottori Prefecture, Japan Topics referred to by

246-463: A honden , the building where the deity is enshrined in many Shinto shrines. Unlike them, however, the Honmiya 's hōden are located to the side of the hei-haiden rather than directly behind it. Unlike today, there were originally far fewer buildings in the Honmiya 's precincts. Medieval records indicate that the shrine's most sacred area where the heihaiden now stands originally only contained

369-601: A snake or dragon deity. The god is named 'Takeminakata-no-Kami' ( 建御名方神 ) in both the Kojiki (ca. 712 CE) and the Sendai Kuji Hongi (ca. 807-936 CE). Variants of the name found in the imperially commissioned national histories and other literary sources include the following: The etymology of the name '(Take)minakata(tomi)' is unclear. While most commentators seem to agree that take- (and probably -tomi ) are honorifics, they differ in how to interpret

492-471: A wave-bladed ceremonial sword). The tomb's location and the nature of the grave goods suggest that the individuals buried therein were important personages perhaps connected in some way to what would become the Upper Shrine. The presence of the snake-like dakōken and other items made of deer antlers have been connected to the identification of the Upper Shrine's god as a serpent in folk beliefs and

615-612: A yew tree in the Akimiya . The origins of the Upper and Lower Shrines of Suwa are shrouded in mystery. The Nihon Shoki (720 CE) refers to envoys sent to worship "the wind-gods of Tatsuta and the gods of Suwa and Minochi in Shinano [Province] " during the fifth year of the reign of Empress Jitō (691 CE), which suggests that a notable kami in Suwa was already being worshiped by

738-495: A cadet branch of the Suwa, took it upon himself to revive the former status of Suwa Shrine. To this end, he commissioned a set of ten illustrated scrolls (later expanded to twelve) showcasing the shrine's history and its various religious ceremonies, which was completed in 1356. The actual scrolls were later lost, but its text portions were copied and widely circulated, becoming known as the Suwa Daimyōjin Ekotoba . By

861-405: A column of ice, and then changed it into a sword blade," and so forth ( 云々 , unnun ). "Upon arriving at the sea of Suwa in the land of Shinano, Takeminakata-no-Kami said, 'I will go to no other place. And I will not disobey the commands of my father Ōkuninushi-no-Kami, and will not disobey the words of the words of my elder brother Yae-Kotoshironushi-no-Kami. I will yield this Central Land of

984-422: A column of ice, then again changed it into a sword blade. At this, he (Takeminakata) was afraid and drew back. Then [Takemikazuchi-no-Kami], in his turn, demanded [the right] to take hold of the arm of Takeminakata-no-Kami. When he took it, it was like taking hold of a young reed; he grasped it and crushed it, throwing it aside. Immediately, he (Takeminakata) ran away. They pursued him, and caught up with him by

1107-701: A deity are curiously absent from the Nihon Shoki or other sources dealing with the province. Takeminakata is thus believed by a number of scholars to have been interpolated by the Kojiki 's compilers into a myth which did not originally feature him. The earliest surviving literary references to a shrine in Suwa dedicated to Takeminakata are in the Shinshō Kyakuchoku Fushō ( 新抄格勅符抄 'New Extracts from Decrees and Edicts', 806 CE), which speaks of "Takeminakatatomi-no-Mikoto-no-Kami" being given land grants by

1230-510: A deity from heaven, this myth notably features the opposite scenario, in which the deity of Suwa descends from heaven and conquers the land below. The Suwa Daimyōjin Ekotoba relates a variant of this myth as an origin story of Fujishima Shrine (藤島社) in Suwa City , one of the Upper Shrine's auxiliary shrines where its yearly rice-planting ceremony is traditionally held. In this version,

1353-455: A favorite sport of the upper classes - imposed by the shogunate in 1212, due to the importance of hunting in its rites. As a loophole to this ban, the gokenin built Suwa branch shrines in their own provinces where 'Suwa style' falconry could be performed, ostensibly to collect offerings for the shrine. The Suwa cult was also propagated by wandering preachers (御師 oshi ) who traveled around Shinano and neighboring provinces, preaching stories about

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1476-706: A go-to source for inquiries regarding the histories of various shrines across the country. It is also known that during his research for information regarding Suwa Shrine, Enchū sought the assistance of two Urabe clan members: Urabe Kanetoyo (卜部兼豊, of the Yoshida branch), then senior assistant director (神祇大輔, jingi taifu ) of the Jingi-kan, and Urabe Kanemae (卜部兼前, of the Hirano branch), either of whom may have been responsible for compiling "The Matter of Suwa Shrine." In other words, Enchu most likely did not (or could not) consult

1599-472: A heavy boulder on his fingertips, saying, "Who is it who has come to our land and is talking so furtively? I wish to challenge you to a test of strength." When he took his hand, he caused ice to appear, and then he manifested a sword . Upon arriving at the sea of Suwa in the land of Shinano, Takeminakata-no-Kami said, "I will go to no other place." This is the karmic origins of the [Suwa deity's] manifest trace (垂迹の本縁, suijaku no hon'en ). Although it

1722-638: A heavy rock on his fingertips and engaged in a test of strength. He also took up a sword and exhibited valor. When he, leading [an army of] divine soldiers, arrived at the sea of Suwa in the land of Shinano, he offered up the Central Land of the Reed Plains to the Heavenly Grandson. As his divine father had ceded the land, he made a vow to never go to another place. This is the account of this shrine's establishment. A third text found in

1845-513: A hook made out of the wisteria plant (藤鎰), emerges victorious against Moriya, who used an iron hook (鐵鎰). After his victory, the god built his dwelling (what would become the Upper Shrine) in Moriya's land and planted the wisteria hook, which became a grove known as the 'Forest of Fujisuwa' (藤諏訪之森 Fujisuwa no mori ). Whereas the Kojiki portrays Takeminakata as an earthly god defeated by

1968-603: A kind of ancestral shrine to the clan's forebears; it is located nearby Aozuka Kofun , a burial mound notable for being the only keyhole tomb in the Lake Suwa region and which may have been the grave of a Kanasashi clan member. The Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku mentions a Kanasashi, Sadanaga (貞長), receiving the kabane Ōason (大朝臣) in the year 863. A genealogy of the Lower Shrine's high priestly line records an elder brother of his, Masanaga (正長), who in addition to being

2091-403: A long time, these two structures were considered as the Upper Shrine's objects of worship. As Buddhist ethics, which opposed the taking of life and Mahayana 's strict views on vegetarianism somewhat conflicted with Suwa Myōjin's status as a god of hunting, the Suwa cult devised elaborate theories that legitimized the hunting, eating, and sacrifice of animals such as deer (a beast sacred to

2214-406: A marker of the battleground for posterity. The Fujishima deity is named thus for this reason. Two extant medieval genealogies of the Suwa (Miwa) clan also begin by recounting the legend of a battle between the Suwa deity, accompanied by the first high priest of the Upper Shrine, and 'Moriya' (守屋) during the reign of Emperor Yōmei (585-587). In later versions of this story which combine it with

2337-513: A medieval Buddhist legend, this god is identified as a king from India whose feats included quelling a rebellion in his kingdom and defeating a dragon in Persia before manifesting in Japan as a native kami . In another medieval folk story, the god is said to have originally been a warrior named Kōga Saburō who returned from a journey into the underworld only to find himself transformed into

2460-630: A particularly fervent cult from various samurai clans during the medieval period such as the Hōjō or the Takeda . Takeminakata was also held to be the mythical ancestor of certain families who once served at the shrine as priests, foremost among them being the Suwa clan , the high priests of the Upper Shrine of Suwa who were also revered as living vessels of the god. Whereas in the Kojiki (ca. 712 CE) and later derivative accounts, Takeminakata appears as one of

2583-464: A pseudepigraphical work of later provenance) states that the Upper Shrine "worships a mountain as its shintai " (以山為神体而拝之矣), it does not specifically identify this mountain to be Mount Moriya; indeed no source identifies Mount Moriya as the Upper Shrine's focus of worship before the Meiji period , when this identification first appeared and began to circulate. As noted above, the shrine's young high priest,

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2706-426: A rock (磐座 iwakura ) serving as the dwelling place of the shrine's deity, which was demarcated by a torii gate and a fence (格子 kakusu ). These texts describe the Honmiya 's terrain as being made up of three levels or 'platforms' (壇 dan ): the sanctum containing the iwakura (corresponding to the heihaiden and its vicinity) was the 'upper platform' (上壇 jōdan ), with the spot where the two hōden stand being

2829-574: A rock deep within the inner sanctum, over which the Tettō was erected. The Maemiya (前宮 'former shrine'), as its name implies, is believed to be the oldest site in the Upper Shrine complex and the center of its religious rites. Originally one of the chief auxiliary shrines of the Upper Shrine complex (see below), the Maemiya was elevated to its current status as one of its two main shrines in 1896 ( Meiji 29). While Yasakatome, Suwa Myōjin's consort,

2952-452: A series of sieges; two years later Yorishige was forced to commit seppuku . Shingen then took Yorishige's daughter (his niece) to be one of his wives and had a son with her, Katsuyori , who would eventually prove to be the downfall of the Takeda. Shingen notably did not give his son the character traditionally used in Takeda names, 信 ( nobu ), but instead the character 頼 ( yori ) used for

3075-438: A serpent or dragon. A fourth myth portrays the Suwa deity appointing an eight-year-old boy to become his priest and physical 'body' ; the boy eventually became the founder of the Upper Shrine's high priestly lineage. Both Takeminakata and Yasakatome are now worshiped together in the Upper and Lower Shrines, with the god Kotoshironushi (another son of Ōkuninushi and Takeminakata's brother) being enshrined alongside them in

3198-539: A single institution, Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社 Suwa-jinja ), and received the rank of kokuhei-chūsha (国幣中社), before being promoted to Kanpei Chūsha (官幣中社) in 1896 and finally, to the highest rank of kanpei-taisha (官幣大社) in 1916. After World War II , the shrine was listed as a special-class shrine (別表神社 beppyō-jinja ) by the Association of Shinto Shrines and renamed Suwa Grand Shrine ( Suwa-taisha ) in 1948. The Upper Shrine's 'main shrine' (本宮 honmiya ), located in

3321-461: A son of the god Ōkuninushi , although the former does not include him in its genealogy of Ōkuninushi's children. The Kuji Hongi meanwhile identifies him as the son of Ōnamuchi (Ōkuninushi) with one of his wives, Nunakawahime of Koshi . Takeminakata appears in both the Kojiki and the Kuji Hongi in the context of Ōkuninushi's "transfer of the land" ( kuni-yuzuri ) to the amatsukami ,

3444-465: A study of surviving manuscripts of the text, postulates that the Ekotoba was only introduced to Suwa itself no earlier than the 17th century, where it gradually gained acceptance among the priestly families of Suwa Shrine, who produced a number of copies of it. Soon, the influence of the Ekotoba can be seen in a number of texts from the area: a text penned by the hatamoto Suwa Morieda (1646-1695),

3567-535: Is a kami in Japanese mythology . Also known as Suwa Myōjin ( 諏訪明神 / 諏方明神 ) or Suwa Daimyōjin ( 諏訪大明神 / 諏方大明神 ) after Suwa Grand Shrine (Suwa Taisha) in Nagano Prefecture in which he is enshrined alongside his consort Yasakatome , Takeminakata is historically worshiped as a god of wind , water and agriculture , as well as a patron of hunting and warfare , in which capacity he enjoyed

3690-425: Is already conceived of as a goddess in the 9th century. As Takeminakata, the Upper Shrine's god, rose up in rank, so did Yasakatome, so that by 867 CE, the goddess had been promoted to senior second rank (正二位). By the late Heian period, Suwa became considered as Shinano Province's chief shrine or ichinomiya . with literary mentions attesting to its status. The 'Register of Deities' (神名帳 Jinmyōchō ) section of

3813-526: Is also often popularly referred to as 'Suwa Myōjin ' (諏訪明神), 'Suwa Daimyōjin' (諏訪大明神), or 'Suwa-no-Ōkami' (諏訪大神, 'Great Kami of Suwa'). The goddess of the Lower Shrine, held to be Takeminakata's consort, is given the name Yasakatome in these texts. While both the Kojiki (ca. 712 CE) and the Sendai Kuji Hongi (807-936 CE) portray Takeminakata as a son of Ōkuninushi , the god of Izumo Province , who fled to Suwa after his shameful defeat in

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3936-454: Is believed that the story of Kōga Saburō , which portrays Suwa Myōjin as a warrior hero and a hunter, originated in the aftermath of the shogunate's collapse and the Suwa Ōhōri 's status becoming diminished as a result. Whereas formerly, the Suwa clan relied on the doctrine of the Upper Shrine's high priest being a god in the flesh to exert authority over its warrior devotees ( Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1186 reprimanded subordinates for not obeying

4059-572: Is considered to be one of the oldest shrines in existence, being implied by the Nihon Shoki to already stand in the late 7th century. The entire Suwa shrine complex consists of four main shrines grouped into two sites: the Upper Shrine or Kamisha (上社), comprising the Maemiya ( 前宮 , former shrine) and the Honmiya ( 本宮 , main shrine) , and the Lower Shrine or Shimosha (下社), comprising

4182-418: Is currently identified as this shrine's deity (with popular legend claiming that the burial mounds of Takeminakata and Yasakatome are to be found in this shrine), some historians believe - based on medieval records - that the local fertility and agriculture god(s) known as Mishaguji , who occupy a prominent role in certain religious rituals of the Upper Shrine, was originally worshiped in this shrine. During

4305-428: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Suwa taisha Suwa Grand Shrine ( Japanese : 諏訪大社 , Hepburn : Suwa-taisha ) , historically also known as Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社 Suwa-jinja ) or Suwa Daimyōjin ( 諏訪大明神 ) , is a group of Shinto shrines in Nagano Prefecture , Japan. The shrine complex is the ichinomiya of former Shinano Province and

4428-467: Is known as the Namiyoke (波除 'Wave-Repelling') Torii . The shrine is now located approximately 5.2 kilometers (3.23 miles) away from the lake's shores. Some authors have put forward an explanation for the differing orientations of the hōden and the hei-haiden by suggesting that the hōden were built to face Mount Moriya, located southwest of the shrine, and a stone called 'Suzuri-ishi' (硯石), which

4551-423: Is locally revered as a sacred mountain, associated with either the god Moriya who figures in one of the Upper Shrine's foundation myths or the infamous 6th century courtier Mononobe no Moriya (worshiped as a deity both at the mountain's peak and at a shrine on the mountain's opposite side), historical records connecting it to the Upper Shrine are scanty. While a document purportedly dating from 1553 (but which may be

4674-547: Is often identified with the iwakura mentioned in medieval texts. They suggest that with the construction of the hei-haiden , the shrine's focus of worship changed from the Suzuri-ishi and the mountain beyond it to the stone pagoda (the Tettō ) formerly located in the forested inner sanctum behind the hei-haiden and the Buddhist temple to Samantabhadra ( Fugen-dō ) to the shrine's southeast. However, while Mount Moriya

4797-641: Is said in the Kuji Hongi that Amaterasu-Ōmikami gave a decree and sent two gods, Futsunushi-no-Kami (of Katori Shrine in Shimōsa Province ) and Takeikatsuchi-no-Kami (of Kashima Shrine in Hitachi ), down to the land of Izumo, where they declared to Ōanamuchi (of Kitsuki in Izumo [and] Miwa in Yamato ), "The Central Land of Reed-Plains is the land entrusted to our heir. Are you willing to give it up to

4920-640: Is said to have opposed Suwa Myōjin and his new ally Moriya in local folklore was Yatsukao-no-Mikoto (矢塚男命), also known as Ganigawara (蟹河原長者 Ganigawara-chōja ). The story relates that Ganigawara, a horse breeder who wielded great authority in the region, held Moriya in contempt for surrendering to Takeminakata and had messengers publicly harass him by calling him a coward. When Ganigawara's servants began to resort to violence by shooting arrows in Takeminakata's newly built house, Takeminakata retaliated by invading Ganigawara's turf. Mortally wounded by an arrow in

5043-495: Is supreme in virtue, and the people could not praise him [enough].' (可謂至徳也、已民無得而稱焉) This is he who is now known as Suwa Daimyōjin. As late as the 19th century (when awareness of the Kojiki 's contents had become much more widespread due to the efforts of kokugaku scholars), this positive reinterpretation of the kuni-yuzuri narrative continued to be found within Suwa: a mid-19th century genealogical chart of Takeminakata issued by

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5166-595: The Engishiki (927 CE) lists the 'Minakatatomi Shrines' (南方刀美神社) as the two major ('eminent') shrines of Suwa district. 'Suwa Shrine of Shinano' is mentioned briefly in Minamoto no Tsuneyori (976/985-1039) diary, the Sakeiki ( 左経記 ) as the representative shrine for Shinano Province when Emperor Go-Ichijō sent an envoy to shrines in every province in the country in 1017 CE. It was probably around this time that

5289-757: The Edo period as locals began to build houses in the precincts and convert much of it into rice fields ; even the shrine priests who still lived nearby used the land for rice farming to support themselves. Takeminakata Minakatatomi-no-Kami (南方刀美神) Minakatatomi-no-Mikoto (御名方富命) Takeminakatatomi-no-Mikoto (建御名方富命, 健御名方富命) Suwa Myōjin (諏訪明神, 諏方明神) Suwa Daimyōjin (諏訪大明神, 諏方大明神) Suwa Hosshō Daimyōjin (諏訪法性大明神, 諏方法性大明神) Suwa Nangū Hosshō Kamishimo Daimyōjin (諏訪南宮法性上下大明神, 諏方南宮法性上下大明神) Suwa Shōichii Nangū Hosshō Daimyōjin (諏訪正一位南宮法性大明神, 諏方正一位南宮法性大明神) Suwa-no-Ōkami (諏訪大神) Suwa-no-Kami (諏訪神) Takeminakata (タケミナカタ), also known as Minakatatomi or Takeminakatatomi ,

5412-547: The Harumiya (春宮, spring shrine) and the Akimiya (秋宮, autumn shrine). The Upper Shrine is located on the south side of Lake Suwa , in the cities of Chino and Suwa , while the Lower Shrine is on the northern side of the lake, in the town of Shimosuwa . In addition to these four main shrines, some sixty other auxiliary shrines scattered throughout the Lake Suwa area (ranging from miniature stone structures to medium to large sized edifices and compounds) are also part of

5535-400: The Kuji Hongi itself, but was rather working with an extract provided by his Urabe contacts. Although he was not responsible for excising Takeminakata's surrender from the narrative himself, its absence from his source allowed Enchū to reimagine the Kuji Hongi narrative in a way that portrayed Takeminakata as a triumphant god who vowed to remain in Suwa of his own volition, consistent with

5658-545: The Muromachi and Sengoku periods . During a battle between the two factions in 1483, the Lower Shrines were burned down by the Upper Shrine's forces; its high priest, Kanasashi Okiharu (金刺興春), was killed in battle. In 1535, Takeda Nobutora of Kai Province , who fought against the Suwa clan a number of times, had a truce with clan leader Suwa Yorishige and sent his daughter Nene off to him as his wife. His clan,

5781-512: The Suwa Daimyōjin Ekotoba exerted considerable influence in the way the kuni-yuzuri myth is recounted in early modern documents associated with Suwa Shrine, not least because it apparently introduced the myth (which seems to have originally been specific to the imperial court - see ' Analysis ' below) into Suwa itself - where other myths concerning the Suwa deity were in circulation - for the first time. Ryōtarō Maeda (2023), based on

5904-508: The Takeda , were already known to be devotees of the Suwa deity since the 12th century, when in 1140, Takeda Nobuyoshi donated lands to each of the two shrines of Suwa in thanksgiving for his defeat of the Taira . By marrying his daughter to Yorishige, Nobutora was trying to bring himself closer to the Suwa and thus, ensuring that he would receive the blessings of the god. In 1542, Nobutora's son Shingen invaded Shinano and defeated Yorishige in

6027-552: The imperial (Yamato) court as a water and/or wind deity during the late 7th century, on par with the wind gods of Tatsuta Shrine in Yamato Province (modern Nara Prefecture ). Fune Kofun , a burial mound dating from the early 5th century discovered near the Kamisha Honmiya in 1959, yielded a number of important artifacts, among them weapons and implements of a ritual nature such as two dakōken ( 蛇行剣 ,

6150-558: The kami of Suwa began to be conceived of as a warrior deity. A famous legend relates that the Suwa deity appeared to the 8th century general Sakanoue no Tamuramaro during his campaign to subjugate the Emishi of northeastern Japan; in thanksgiving for the god's assistance, Tamuramaro was said to have petitioned the court for the institution of the shrine's religious festivals. The Ryōjin Hishō , an anthology of songs compiled in 1179, names

6273-403: The kuni-yuzuri myth, Moriya opposes Takeminakata after the latter had fled from Izumo. After being defeated, Moriya swears fealty to Takeminakata and becomes a faithful ally. Moriya is reckoned as the divine ancestor of the Moriya (守矢) clan, one of the former priestly lineages of the Upper Shrine. While medieval sources such as Nobushige's petition and the Ekotoba situate the battle between

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6396-554: The lake of Suwa in the land of Shinano (科野国州羽海). As they were about to kill him, Takeminakata-no-Kami said: "Pray do not kill me. I will go to no other place. Also I will not disobey the commands of my father, Ōkuninushi-no-Kami, and will not disobey the words of the words of Yae-Kotoshironushi-no-Kami. I will yield this Central Land of the Reed Plains in accordance with the commands of the Heavenly Deities." With Takeminakata's surrender, Ōkuninushi finally agreed to cede

6519-494: The Ōhori , due to being considered as the god of Suwa incarnate , was more commonly identified as the shrine's object of worship during the medieval period. An alternative theory posits that the Upper Shrine's closest analogue to a holy mountain is actually the Yatsugatake mountain range to the shrine's southeast. This theory interprets the hei-haiden as being oriented towards the Upper Shrine's hunting grounds located at

6642-489: The Ōhōri , declaring that his words are those of the god of Suwa himself ), with the loss of official backing the Suwa shrine network became decentralized. Warriors who were devoted to the Suwa cult sought for stories ( setsuwa ) about the deity that did not involve the Ōhōri or the Suwa clan, leading to the rise of localized setsuwa such as the Kōga Saburō legend. Suwa (or Kosaka) Enchū, government official and member of

6765-471: The 'middle platform' (中壇 chūdan ). The 'lower platform' (下壇 gedan ) where the Kagura Hall now stands was where religious rites were originally conducted. In antiquity, the water level of Lake Suwa was five to six meters higher than it currently is; the lake thus originally came up near the Honmiya before it shrunk into its present size. Indeed, the wooden torii gate at the shrine's northwest end

6888-677: The 14th century, the high priestly houses of the Upper and Lower Shrines, the Suwa and the Kanasashi were at war with each other and, in the Suwa's case, among themselves. During the Nanboku-chō period , the Suwa supported the Southern Court , while the Kanasashi chose to side with the Northern Court . This and other reasons contributed to the state of war between the two families, as well as other clans allied with them, during

7011-492: The Lower Shrine as an auxiliary deity. Like others among Japan's oldest shrines, three of Suwa Shrine's four main sites - the Kamisha Honmiya and the two main shrines of the Shimosha - do not have a honden , the building that normally enshrines a shrine's kami . Instead, the Upper Shrine's objects of worship were the sacred mountain behind the Kamisha Honmiya , a sacred rock (磐座 iwakura ) upon which Suwa Myōjin

7134-466: The Lower Shrine were set on fire by unknown perpetrators; in the latter case, it was rumored to have been caused by the shrine's priests. The establishment of State Shinto after the Meiji Restoration in 1868 brought an end to the union between Shinto and Buddhism. The shrines of Suwa, due to their prominent status as ichinomiya of Shinano, were chosen as one of the primary targets for

7257-597: The Lower Shrine's two component shrines, is located beside the Togawa River , which flows from the Yashimagahara Wetlands northwest of Kirigamine Plateau , where Moto-Misayama (旧御射山), the former sacred hunting grounds of the Lower Shrine, is situated. The Lower Shrine is also associated with a clan known as the Kanasashi (金刺, also read as 'Kanesashi' or 'Kanazashi'), the offshoot of a local magnate clan ( kuni no miyatsuko ) which eventually became

7380-606: The Middle Ages, the area around the Maemiya was known as the Gōbara (神原), the 'Field of the Deity', as it was both the residence of the Upper Shrine's Ōhōri and the site of many important rituals. The Ōhōri 's original residence in the Gōbara , the Gōdono (神殿), also functioned as the political center of the region, with a small town ( monzen-machi ) developing around it. The Gōdono

7503-735: The Reed Plains in accordance with the commands of the Heavenly Deities.'" Based on textual affinities with the Urabe text of the Kojiki , the Jōkan-shō is thought to have been authored by a member of the priestly Urabe clan associated with the Yoshida and Hirano Shrines in Kyoto. Records indicate that during the medieval period, the Kuji Hongi was used by the Department of Divinities or Jingi-kan (in which many Urabe clan members occupied posts) as

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7626-525: The Suwa Hosshō helmet (諏訪法性兜). In 1582, the eldest son of Oda Nobunaga , Nobutada , led an army into Takeda -controlled Shinano and burned the Upper Shrine to the ground. The shrine was subsequently rebuilt two years later. During the Edo period , both shrines were recognized and supported by the Tokugawa shogunate and the local government, with both being given land grants by the shōgun and

7749-518: The Suwa deity as well as distributing kajikimen and kajikibashi to the populace, collecting offerings and donations in exchange. The shrines suffered a heavy setback at the downfall of the Hōjō and the collapse of the shogunate in 1333. Testifying to the close connections between the warrior families of the Suwa region and the Hōjō is the fact that many members of the Suwa clan present in Kamakura during

7872-500: The Suwa deity include Nangū Daimyōjin (南宮大明神, "Daimyōjin of the Southern Shrine ( Nangū )"), Hosshō Daimyōjin (法性大明神, " Dharma-Nature Daimyōjin"), a combination of the two such as Nangū Hosshō Daimyōjin (南宮法性大明神), or Suwa Hosshō Kamishimo (or Jōge ) Daimyōjin (諏訪法性上下大明神, "Dharma-Nature Daimyōjin of the Upper and Lower Suwa [Shrines]"). Some of the war banners used by Sengoku daimyō Takeda Shingen (a devotee of

7995-550: The Upper Shrine for instance quotes the above passage from the Shinshu Suwa Daimyōjin Engi . A document submitted in 1834 to the Commissioner of Shrines and Temples ( Jisha-bugyō ) by the Lower Shrine's Momoi clan (桃井氏) of priests relates the following: When the two deities of Kashima and Katori came down to the land of Izumo at the command of the heavenly deities, he [Takeminakata] fought for his land bearing

8118-501: The Upper Shrine of Suwa, known as the Suwa Nobushige Gejō (諏訪信重解状 "The Petition of Suwa Nobushige"), relates a story from "the ancient customs" (舊貫) that the Suwa deity came down from heaven in order to take possession of the land of 'Moriya Daijin' (守屋大臣). The conflict between the two escalated into a battle, but as no winner could be declared, the two finally compete in a tug of war using hooks ( kagi ): Suwa Myōjin, using

8241-456: The Upper Shrine's high priestly (大祝 Ōhōri ) house - around the late 6th/early 7th centuries, with the appearance of burial mounds markedly different from the type exemplified by Fune Kofun heretofore common in the region around this time period being taken as the signs of Yamato expansion into Suwa, though this idea has been called into question in recent years due to the myth's late (medieval) attestation and its similarity to stories concerning

8364-515: The Yatsugatake's foothills in what is now the town of Fujimi . As for the iwakura , there seems to be evidence based on old maps and illustrations of the Honmiya compound that the Suzuri-ishi was originally situated elsewhere before it was moved to its current location, making its identification with the sacred rock found in ancient records doubtful. An alternative theory proposes that the iwakura spoken of in these texts actually refers to

8487-405: The [Fujishima] deity picked up a wisteria branch and defeated [Moriya]. Finally, he brought down heresy (邪輪, jarin , lit. "ring/wheel/circle of evil") and held up the true Dharma (正法, shōbō ). When the god pronounced a vow and threw the wisteria branch away, immediately it took root [in the ground], its branches and leaves flourishing in abundance, and [sprouted] beautiful blossoms, leaving behind

8610-462: The archives of the Upper Shrine's Moriya (守矢氏) priestly clan titled "The Origin of Suwa Daimyōjin" (諏訪大明神由来, Suwa Daimyōjin yurai ) features Takeminakata striking fear into Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi after displaying his power to them, only agreeing to cede Ashihara no Nakatsukuni after he was convinced by their reasoning. The three then go to Suwa, where they defeat the local deity Moriya (see below). Similar attempts at retelling or reinterpreting

8733-502: The chaos of war and lack of financial support, which also helped him both strengthen his control over Shinano and unify the people of the province. Shingen's devotion to the god of Suwa is also evident in some of his war banners, which bore the god's syncretized Buddhist name: Suwa Nangū Hosshō Kamishimo Daimyōjin (諏方南宮法性上下大明神 ' Dharma-Nature Daimyōjin of the Suwa Upper and Lower Southern Shrines'), as well as his iconic helmet,

8856-463: The conflict between Prince Shōtoku and Mononobe no Moriya that were in wide circulation during the Middle Ages. 'Takeminakata', the name by which the deity of the Upper Shrine is more commonly known to the imperial court, appears in the historical record for the first time in the Kojiki 's (711-712 CE) kuni-yuzuri myth cycle. Although the work associates Takeminakata with the province of Izumo and its deity Ōkuninushi , references to such

8979-480: The court, and the Sendai Kuji Hongi , commonly dated to the 9th-10th century, which explicitly refers to Takeminakata as being enshrined in "Suwa Shrine in the district of Suwa in Shinano Province" (信濃国諏方郡諏方神社). The national histories record Takeminakata's exceptionally rapid rise in importance: from rankless (无位), the imperial court steadily promoted the deity to increasingly higher ranks within

9102-423: The declaration [to cede the land] to this god (Takeminakata), but this god would not easily give his assent. Bearing a heavy boulder on his fingertips, he came, saying, "Who has come forth, saying these things? I wish to have a contest of strength." [But] he repented and eventually ceded the Central Land to the Heavenly Grandson. He departed, arriving at the sea of Suwa in the land of Shinano. 'It may be said that he

9225-458: The deity of Fujishima Shrine (藤島の明神 Fujishima no Myōjin ) - usually equated with Suwa Myōjin - defeats "Moriya the evil outlaw" (洩矢の惡賊, Moriya no akuzoku ) with a wisteria branch: Regarding the god of Fujishima [Shrine] (藤島の明神, Fujishima no Myōjin ): when the revered deity (尊神, sonjin , i.e. Suwa Daimyōjin) manifested long ago, Moriya the evil outlaw (洩矢の惡賊, Moriya no akuzoku ), seeking to hinder him, took up an iron ring (鐵輪) to fight him, but

9348-482: The district governor (大領 dairyō ) of Hanishina District , also held the title of Megamihōri (売神祝) or 'priest of the goddess'. The same title appears in a seal in the Lower Shrine's possession (designed as an Important Cultural Property in 1934) traditionally said to have been bequeathed by the Emperor Heizei (reigned 806-809). This shows that the shrine's deity - named 'Yasakatome' in imperial records -

9471-497: The edict of separation, which took effect swiftly and thoroughly. The shrine monks were laicized and Buddhist symbols either removed from the complex or destroyed; the shrines' Buddhist rites, such as the yearly offering of a copy of the Lotus Sutra to the Upper Shrine's deity, were discontinued. The now laicized monks at first tried to continue serving at the shrines as Shinto priests; however, due to continued discrimination from

9594-522: The esoteric Shingon school ) were erected on the precincts of both shrines, such as a sanctuary to Samantabhadra known as the Fugen-dō (普賢堂) and a stone pagoda symbolizing the legendary iron tower in India where, according to Shingon tradition, Nagarjuna was said to have received esoteric teachings from Vajrasattva (considered to be an aspect of Samantabhadra) called the Tettō (鉄塔 "iron tower"). For

9717-782: The fleeing Takeminakata in the modern village of Toyooka , where they agreed to an armistice and left imprints of their hands on a rock as a sign of their agreement. The rock, bearing the gods' supposed handprints ( tegata ), is found in Otegata Shrine (御手形神社) in Toyooka. After Takemikazuchi's departure, Takeminakata temporarily resided in the neighboring village of Ōshika , where he discovered hot springs of saltwater while hunting for deer. The contest between Takemikazuchi and Takeminakata has also been sometimes interpreted as an origin myth for sumo wrestling and aiki . This interpretation apparently follows an alternative reading of

9840-466: The formless, transcendent ultimate truth that is the source of all buddhas , which are its physical manifestations ( nirmāṇakāya ). A certain medieval legend claims that the Suwa deity chose an eight-year-old boy to become his priest while declaring: "I have no (physical) body and so make this priest my body ". Takeminakata is portrayed in both the Kojiki and the Sendai Kuji Hongi as

9963-530: The god) for instance contain the inscription Suwa Nangū Hosshō Kamishimo / Jōge Daimyōjin (諏訪南宮法性上下大明神 / 諏方南宮法性上下大明神). A hanging scroll given by Emperor Go-Nara (reigned 1526–1557) to the Upper Shrine in 1553 ( Tenbun 22), written in the emperor's own calligraphy, refers to the god as Suwa Shōichii Nangū Hossho Daimyōjin (諏方正一位南宮法性大明神, "Dharma-Nature Daimyōjin of the Suwa Nangū , of Upper First Rank "). A number of explanations have been proposed for

10086-424: The god) within a Buddhist framework. The shrines produced special talismans (鹿食免 kajikimen "permit to eat venison ") and chopsticks (鹿食箸 kajikibashi ) that were held to allow the bearer to eat meat. The prominence of hunting in the shrine's religious rites undoubtedly caught the attention of the samurai class. Devotion to the deity of Suwa (especially as god of war) became more widespread thanks in part to

10209-603: The gods of the heavenly realm of Takamagahara . When the heavenly deities, headed by the sun goddess Amaterasu and/or the primordial deity Takamimusubi , sent Takemikazuchi and another messenger to demand that Ōkuninushi relinquish his authority over the earthly realm of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni (the "Central Land of Reed-Plains") to Amaterasu's progeny, he told the messengers to consult his son Kotoshironushi , who immediately accepted their demands and advised his father to do likewise. Upon being asked if he had any other sons who ought to express their opinion, Ōkuninushi told

10332-411: The hands of the warrior god Takemikazuchi , who was sent by the gods of heaven to demand that his father relinquish his rule over the terrestrial realm, other myths and legends depict the Suwa deity differently. In one story, for instance, the god of the Upper Shrine is an interloper who conquered the region by defeating various local deities who resisted him such as the god Moriya (Moreya). In

10455-546: The heavenly deities?" Ōanamuchi said, "Ask my son, Kotoshironushi-no-Kami (of Nagata Shrine in Settsu ; eighth [patron deity of] the Jingi-kan ); he will give you an answer." Kotoshironushi-no-Kami said, "My father ought respectfully to withdraw, nor will I disobey." [The messengers said,] "Do you have any other sons who ought to speak?" "There is also my son, Takeminakata-no-Kami (of Suwa Shrine)." [He] came, bearing

10578-428: The intention of reestablishing the Kamakura shogunate, which ended with the defeat of Tokiyuki's forces and Yorishige, Tokitsugu and some others committing suicide. Tokitsugu's son who inherited the priesthood, Yoritsugu (頼継), was stripped from his position and replaced by Fujisawa Masayori (藤沢政頼), who hailed from a cadet branch of the clan. Now declared an enemy of the imperial throne, Yoritsugu went into hiding. It

10701-412: The land to the amatsukami and withdrew himself into the unseen spirit world. The opening section of the Suwa Daimyōjin Ekotoba , a Nanboku-chō period compilation of legends and other information regarding Suwa Shrine and its festivals completed in 1356, retells the Kuji Hongi version of this story, albeit with Takeminakata's shameful defeat in the hands of Takemikazuchi notably omitted. It

10824-436: The late Heian period anthology Ryōjin Hishō associates the three shrines together, with Suwa Shrine being identified as the "head" of the three Nangū shrines (南宮の本山, nangu no honzan ), the shrine at Mino as the "midmost shrine" (中の宮, naka no miya ), and the shrine at Iga as the "youngest shrine" (稚の宮, chigo no miya ) . Hosshō , meanwhile, is believed to refer to the concept of the dharmakāya (法性身, hosshōshin ),

10947-508: The local daimyō. The period saw escalating tensions between the priests and the shrine monks ( shasō ) of the Suwa complex, with increasing attempts from the priesthood to distance themselves from the Buddhist temples. By the end of the Edo period, the priests, deeply influenced by Hirata Atsutane 's nativist , anti-Buddhist teachings, became extremely antagonistic towards the shrine temples and their monks. In 1864 and 1867, Buddhist structures in

11070-436: The matter somewhat, however, is that very little documentation for the Lower Shrine has been preserved; almost all extant historical and ritual documents regarding Suwa Shrine extant today are those of the Upper Shrine. The Upper and Lower Shrines of Suwa were historically associated with a male and female kami , respectively. The god of the Upper Shrine, named Takeminakata in the imperially-commissioned official histories ,

11193-825: The medieval belief that the Suwa deity was the guardian of the south side of the imperial palace or the Shinto-Buddhist concept that the god is an enlightened being who manifested in our world, which in Buddhist cosmology is the southern continent of Jambudvīpa . Aside from Suwa Shrine, Nangū was also applied to Kanayamahiko Shrine in Mino Province (modern Nangū Taisha in Gifu Prefecture ) and Aekuni Shrine (南宮大菩薩, Nangū Daibosatsu ) in Iga Province (modern Mie Prefecture ). A song in

11316-490: The messengers that he had another son named Takeminakata. As he was saying this, this same Takeminakata-no-Kami came bearing a tremendous boulder (千引之石, chibiki no iwa , i.e. a boulder so large it would take a thousand men to pull) on his finger-tips and said: "Who is it who has come to our land and is talking so furtively? Come, let us test our strength; I will first take your arm." When [Takemikazuchi-no-Kami] allowed [Takeminakata-no-Kami] to take his arm, he changed it into

11439-484: The myth in a more positive way are found in other texts. In one version, for instance, Takeminakata is portrayed as going to Suwa not so much to flee from Takemikazuchi but to pacify it under the orders of his father Ōkuninushi. A variant found in a commentary on the Nihon Shoki penned by a 15th-century monk named Shun'yu (春瑜), the Nihon Shoki Shikenmon (日本書紀私見聞), claims 'Suwa Daimyōjin' (諏防大明神) to be

11562-410: The names of Suwa clan members, apparently as a sign of Katsuyori being the intended heir to the Suwa legacy and of Shingen's desire to place the land of Suwa and its shrines under Takeda control. After Yorishige's downfall, Suwa was divided between the Takeda and their ally, Takatō Yoritsugu (高遠頼継), who coveted the position of high priest. When he did not receive the priestly office, Yoritsugu invaded

11685-411: The nominal head of his troops is also believed to be a way to invoke the aid of the Suwa deity. Apart from this, there are other recorded instances of Shingen praying to the god to assist him in his campaigns. From 1565 onwards, Shingen (who by now had conquered the whole of Shinano Province) issued orders for the revival of religious rituals in the Upper and Lower Shrines which were discontinued due to

11808-425: The northern foothills of Mount Moriya - currently often identified as the Upper Shrine's go-shintai - boasts the largest number of historical buildings and structures of the four shrines, a number of which have been designated as Important Cultural Properties . Similar to the two shrines of the Lower Shrine, the Honmiya possesses two thatched-roof wooden edifices called hōden (宝殿 'treasure hall') in place of

11931-532: The origin of the term Nangū. One theory posits it to refer to the geographical location of the Upper Suwa Shrine, which is located southeast of Lake Suwa, at the southern half of Shinano Province, while another claims it to be derived from 'Minakatatomi' (南方刀美), one of the variant names for the deity, with minakata being apparently understood to mean "south(ern)" (cf. etymology of 'Takeminakata' above). The term has also been interpreted to come from

12054-497: The other components of the name. Some of the proposed solutions are as follows. During the medieval and early modern periods, the god enshrined in Suwa Grand Shrine – specifically, in the Upper Shrine ( Kamisha ) located southeast of Lake Suwa – was popularly known as Suwa Daimyōjin ( 諏訪大明神 / 諏方大明神) or Suwa Myōjin ( 諏訪明神 ), a name also applied via metonymy to the shrine itself. The name '(Take)minakata(tomi)'

12177-428: The other half of the territory that was in Takeda hands. Ensuring that Yoritsugu will not receive support from the former Suwa retainers, Shingen made Yorishige's son the nominal leader of the forces of resistance and retaliated by capturing Yoritsugu's castles. Shingen is said to have prayed at the Upper Shrine for victory, vowing to donate a horse and a set of armor should he defeat Yoritsugu. His making Yorishige's son

12300-434: The portrayal of the god of Suwa as an illustrious warrior deity in the Ekotoba 's later portions. Whereas in the original Kojiki and Kuji Hongi narrative, Takemikazuchi is said to have "changed [his arm] into a column of ice, then again changed it into a sword blade" (取成立氷亦取成劍刃) after having it grasped by Takeminakata, Enchū - taking advantage of the ambiguous syntax of the original Classical Chinese text - chooses to read

12423-460: The prominence of hunting animals such as deer in the shrine's rituals. Local historians have seen the legend that speaks of the Upper Shrine's deity as an intruding conqueror who wrested control of the Lake Suwa region from the native god Moriya (Moreya) to reflect the subjugation of local clans who controlled the area by invaders allied with the Yamato state - identified as the founders of

12546-596: The relevant passage. He identifies Enchū's source text with an extract of the Kuji Hongi kuni-yuzuri narrative titled "The Matter of Suwa Shrine" (諏方社事, Suwa-sha no koto ), which was in turn appended to a lengthy extract of the Kojiki 's kuni-yuzuri account (古事記上巻抄, Kojiki Jōkan-shō , "Excerpt from the Upper Volume of the Kojiki ") found in the temple library of Shinpuku-ji ( Ōsu Kannon ) in Nagoya . "(...) When he allowed him to take his hand, he changed it into

12669-556: The right to be pardoned for crimes during their year of service as otō . Around this time, Suwa branch shrines became numerous all across Japan, especially in territories held by clans devoted to the god (for instance, the Kantō region , traditional stronghold of the Minamoto ( Seiwa Genji ) clan). A number of factors were instrumental for this spread of the Suwa Myōjin cult. First, warriors from Shinano Province who were rewarded lands in

12792-544: The rise of the Upper Shrine's high priestly family - now calling themselves the Jin/Miwa (神) or the Suwa (諏訪) - as vassals ( gokenin ) of the Kamakura shogunate and the Hōjō clan . The shrines of Suwa and the priestly clans thereof flourished under the patronage of the Hōjō, which promoted devotion to the god as a sign of loyalty to the shogunate. The religious festivals of the Upper and Lower Shrines attracted many of

12915-487: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Suwa Shrine . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Suwa_Shrine&oldid=1182265245 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Suwa shrines Hidden categories: Articles containing Japanese-language text Short description

13038-491: The samurai caste as well as other social classes, both from within Shinano and outside. The Hōjō appointed local land managers ( jitō ) and retainers, who were sometimes Hōjō family members, as sponsors (御頭 otō or ontō ) of the festivals, which helped provide financial support for the shrines. To offset the burden of this service, these sponsors enjoyed a number of benefits such as exemption from certain provincial taxes and

13161-437: The shrine complex. These are the focus of certain rituals in the shrine's religious calendar. Historically, the Upper and the Lower Shrines have been two separate entities, each with its own set of shrines and religious ceremonies. The existence of two main sites, each one having a system parallel to but completely different from the other, complicates a study of the Suwa belief system as a whole. One circumstance that simplifies

13284-400: The shrine of Suwa among famous shrines to martial deities in the eastern half of the country. As Buddhism began to penetrate Suwa and syncretize with local beliefs , the deities of the Upper and Lower Shrines came to be identified with the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra (Fugen) and Avalokiteśvara (Kannon), respectively. Buddhist temples and other edifices (most of which belonged to

13407-454: The shrine priesthood, they gave up and left. The priests themselves were soon ousted from their offices as the state abolished hereditary succession among Shinto priests and private ownership of shrines across the country; the Ōhōri - now stripped of his divine status - as well as the other local priestly houses were replaced by government-appointed priests. In 1871, the Upper and Lower Shrines - now under government control - were merged into

13530-503: The shrine's high priests. The Kanasashi are thought to have been originally district magistrates (郡領 gunryō ) in charge of producing and collecting taxed goods and laborers to be sent to the central government in Yamato Province . Their seat of power seems to have been located near what is now the Lower Shrine, which was close to the important crossroads that led to the capital. Indeed, the Shimosha Akimiya may have started as

13653-494: The siege of the city in 1333 committed suicide alongside Hōjō Takatoki . Takatoki's son, the young Tokiyuki , sought refuge in Shinano with Suwa Yorishige (諏訪頼重, not to be confused with the Sengoku period daimyō of the same name ) and his son and then- Ōhōri , Tokitsugu (時継). In July–August 1335, the Suwa and other clans who remained loyal to the Hōjō, led by Tokiyuki, instigated an unsuccessful armed rebellion with

13776-408: The sons of the god Ōkuninushi who fled to Lake Suwa after being defeated by the warrior god Takemikazuchi , other myths (mostly of medieval origin) instead offer alternative explanations regarding the god of Suwa Shrine's origins and identity, portraying him either as an interloper who conquered Suwa by defeating the local kami of the region, as a king from India who manifested in Japan, or as

13899-473: The space of twenty-five years, beginning with junior fifth, upper grade (従五位上) in 842 CE. By 867 CE, 'Takeminakatatomi-no-Mikoto' is recorded in the Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku as being elevated to the rank of junior first (従一位). One theory suggests that the cult of the Lower Shrine may have originated from the worship of the kami of the nearby mountains and rivers. The Harumiya , one of

14022-416: The text such that Takeminakata is now said to magically materialize ice and a sword as a display of his power to Takemikazuchi (即氷ヲ成立、又劍ヲ取成, "he (Takeminakata) caused ice to appear, and then he manifested a sword"). Before (and to an extent, even after) the rediscovery and subsequent boom in popularity of the Kojiki in the middle of the Edo period , the more positive image of Takeminakata as presented in

14145-401: The text which sees Takemikazuchi as not so much crushing and tearing Takeminakata's arm(s) off but seizing him by the arm and throwing him into the ground. A myth from the Suwa area portrays Suwa Myōjin as being opposed during his advent by the local god Moriya (Moreya). A document supposedly submitted to the Kamakura shogunate in 1249 by Suwa Nobushige, then high priest or Ōhōri (大祝) of

14268-594: The third son of the deity Sannō Gongen , the guardian deity of Mount Hiei . After engaging in a failed rebellion against Amaterasu, the deity surrendered and settled down in the land of Shinano. Local legends from within Nagano Prefecture claim Takeminakata to have passed or stayed in various places within the region during his escape. A local legend in Shimoina District (located south of Suwa) for instance claims that Takemikazuchi caught up with

14391-460: The two gods in the slopes of Mount Moriya somewhere in the vicinity of the Upper Shrine (modern Suwa City ), a variant legend first attested in Edo period texts instead place it on the banks of the Tenryū River (modern Okaya City ). Apart from Moriya, a few scattered local legends make reference to other deities who either submitted to the Suwa deity or refused to do so. One such god that

14514-478: The western provinces by the shogunate in the aftermath of the Jōkyū War of 1221 took the Suwa cult with them. Second, the shogunate appointed major non-Shinano vassals to manors in the province, who then acted as sponsors and participants in the shrine rituals, eventually installing the cult in their native areas. A third factor was the exemption granted to the shrines of Suwa from the ban on falconry ( takagari ) -

14637-565: The younger brother of Suwa Tadaharu , the third daimyō of Takashima Domain in 1684 titled Shinshu Suwa Daimyōjin Engi (信州諏方大明神縁起, "The Origin Story of Suwa Daimyōjin of Shinano Province"), for instance, features the reinterpreted kuni-yuzuri myth, which Morieda then interprets in a Neo-Confucian light as a meritorious act of filial piety comparable to Taibo 's renunciation of the throne of Zhou . They (Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi) also made

14760-417: Was eventually abandoned after the area was deemed to have become ritually polluted in the aftermath of the intraclan conflict among the Suwa clan which resulted in the death of Ōhōri Suwa Yorimitsu ( 諏訪頼満 ) in 1483. In 1601, the Ōhōri 's place of residence was moved from the Maemiya to Miyatado (宮田渡) in modern Suwa City . With the Ōhōri having moved elsewhere, the Gōbara fell into decline during

14883-490: Was formerly thought that the Ekotoba 's compiler, Suwa (Kosaka) Enchū (1295-1364, a member of a cadet branch of the Suwa clan based in Kyoto ) was responsible for excising Takeminakata's defeat out of this retelling in order to portray the deity in a more positive light, Ryōtarō Maeda (2020) put forward the alternative explanation that Enchū may have made use from an anthology of excerpts or florilegium that happened to omit

15006-481: Was rarely used, if at all, during this period: indeed, medieval documents from Suwa Shrine simply refer to the god as sonshin / sonjin (尊神, "revered deity") or myōjin (明神, "bright deity" or "manifest deity"). This however is hardly unusual, as before the early modern period use of titles such as myōjin or gongen for various gods and their shrines were so widespread that these deities were rarely referred to by their classical names. Other epithets applied to

15129-400: Was thought to descend, and the shrine's former high priest or Ōhōri , who was considered to be the physical incarnation of the god himself. This was later joined by Buddhist structures (removed or demolished during the Meiji period ) which were also revered as symbols of the deity. The Lower Shrine, meanwhile, has sacred trees for its go-shintai : a sugi tree in the Harumiya , and

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