Aekuni Shrine


Aekuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the city of Iga, Mie Prefecture, Japan. It is the Ichinomiya of the former Iga Province and claims to have been founded in the seventh century. It is classified as a Beppo Shrine by the Association of Shinto Shrines.

Enshrined ''kami''

The kami enshrined at Aekuni Jinja are:

About the ''Kami''

According to the Engishiki, there used to be only one god. According to the Rikkokushi, the name of this god is Aekunishin-kami. This god's essence maintained power throughout the entire region, together with the Abe clan's patron god, dedicating Mt. Nangu as a place of worship.
During the Muromachi Period, a theory arose that Kanayamahiko was assigned to Aekunishin as a personal god. Soon after, a secondary theory arose stating that the god assigned was actually Sukunabikona. The Kanayamahiko assignment theory, in relation to Mt. Nangu, is rooted in religious documents, as it is mentioned in both the Dainipponkoku Ichinomiyaki and the Engishiki Jinmeicho from the late Muromachi Period. There is also literature written down of folklore related to Mino Province's ichinomiya, Nangu Taisha, but the evidence and details are lacking. On the other hand, Sukunabikona, also known as the pioneer god, resembles the Iga Province's Osanakichigo-no-Miya from the Ryojin Hisho. This theory is believed to have been established around the end of the Heian Period. After that, from the end of the Muromachi Period to the mid. Edo Period, the two theories of Kanayamahime and Sukunabikona, and the three theories introducing Koga Saburo were established.
In the third year of the Shotoku Era, it was advocated that Prince Ohiko was actually the god enshrined at Aekuni Shrine. This proposition was based on the fact that in both the Nihon Shoki and the Shinsen Shojiroku, Prince Ohiko is described as the founder of the Aya clan. Afterwards, the Prince Ohiko theory was adopted, and Koga Saburo was abolished from the pantheon.

History

As with most Shinto shrines of ancient origin, the story of the shrine's founding is vague, contradictory and lacking in historical documentation. According to the shrine's own myth, it was founded by order of Empress Kōgyoku in 658 AD. The principal kami, Ōhiko-no-mikoto was the son of the semi-legendary Emperor Kōgen. Per the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki, he was a general sent to conquer the Hokuriku region for Yamato, and was the ancestor of the Abe clan. After his return to Yamato, he was granted estates in the Asai District of Iga Province, where he eventually died and was buried in a kofun. The secondary kami, Sukunabikona is connected with the immigrant Hata clan, who were also living in this area. The shrine was originally located on the summit of Mount Nangū to the south, and was later relocated to its present site at the foot of the mountain. During the Heian period, another secondary kami, Kanayamahime, from the Nangū Taisha in Gifu Prefecture was moved to the old shrine at the summit of the mountain, hence where the name "Mount Nangū" originated. In the second year of the Jōgan Era mysterious words appeared, burned into the shinboku of the shrine at the summit. According to the words, Kanayamahime had moved to Aekuni Shrine at the foot of the mountain.
The shrine is listed in the Nihon Montoku Tennō Jitsuroku of 850 AD, Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku of 864 AD and the Engishiki records of 927 AD, and in the late Heian period Genpei Jōsuiki, it is called the "Ichinomiya Nangū Dai-Bosatsu". During the Nanboku-cho period, Southern Court Emperor Go-Murakami spent several days at the shrine and awarded it with an estate. However, during the 1579 Tenshō Iga War, the shrine was burned down by the forces of Oda Nobunaga. It was reconstructed in 1593 by yamabushi. In the Edo period, with construction of Iga Ueno Castle, the shrine was reconstructed in 1621 by order of Tōdō Takatora, as it protected the spiritually vulnerable northeast quadrant of the castle. After the Meiji restoration, the shrine was given the rank of National shrine, 2nd rank in the Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines in 1884.
It is believed that part of the original worship around Aekuni Shrine was the worship of Mount Nangū itself, as 200 meters south of Aekuni Shrine is a large boulder believed to be iwakura. Currently, this boulder has been lost, however, a kofun has been found in the vicinity, along with evidence of the enshrining of a great stone god. It is believed that this same stone god is being worshiped at Aekuni Shrine's Oishi-sha.

Shrine structures

Auxiliary/branch shrines

Auxiliary shrines

  • Rokusho-sha - On the eastern side of the main shrine
  • Kusho-sha - On the western side of the main shrine

Branch shrines

  • Wakamiya Hachiman-sha
  • Kosazuke-sha
  • Shinmei-sha
  • Kusunoki-sha
  • Musubi-sha
  • Oishi-sha
  • Ichikishima jinja
  • Asama-sha - The shrine that rests by Mt. Nangu’s summit

Festivals

Source:
  • Every Month
  • * Monthly festival
  • January
  • * New Year’s Day Festival
  • * First Ceremony of the Dancing Lion
  • * Festival of Reverence for Worshipers
  • February
  • * Festival of Prayer for Warding off Evil
  • * Kigensai
  • * Prayer Festival
  • * Great Stone Shrine’s Festival of Prayer
  • April
  • * Great Festival of Spring
  • * Festival of the Dancing Lion
  • * Great Stone Shrine’s Spring Festival
  • * Ichinomiya District’s Prayer Festival for Traffic Safety
  • June
  • * The Association’s Annual Festival
  • * Great Purification Festival
  • July
  • * Great Stone Shrine’s Gion Festival
  • August
  • * Shinto Ritual for the Circle of Thatch
  • September
  • * Ichinomiya District’s Respect for the Elderly Festival
  • * Memorial service for those who have died related to the shrine
  • October
  • * Kosha Grand Festival
  • November
  • * The Emperor’s Harvest Ceremony
  • * Kokutou-sai
  • December
  • * Asama Shrine Festival
  • * Idol Procession Festival
  • * Habitual Festival
  • * The Emperor’s Birthday
  • * Great Purification Festival
  • * New Year’s Eve
  • Full Moon Festival
Kagura is performed at Aekuni Shrine’s Festivals of the Dancing Lion on January 3 and April 17, and at the annual shrine festival on December 5. It is said that kagura originated in the Keicho Era. Across various parts of Iga are models of the lion kagura, and they have been designated a genuine intangible traditional cultural property of Mie Prefecture.

Cultural properties

Mie Prefecture Designated Tangible Cultural Properties

  • '''Paintings of Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry, Edo Period, 12 frames. Portraits of the 36 poets have been divided among twelve frames. It appears that these paintings were part of an article from “Koushitsu Nenpu Ryaku” in the 14th year of the Keicho Era, but the same article can be found in “Yamatoku”, in which the creator is wrongly attributed to be Kano Sanraku. The paintings are actually Konoe Nobutada’s brushwork. They were designated on March 17th, 2005.

Mie Prefecture Designated Intangible Cultural Folk Properties

  • Aekuni Shrine’s Lion Dance. It was designated on April 1, 1954.

Iga City Designated Tangible Cultural Properties

  • Yugama iron craftwork - Dedicated in the third year of the Keicho Era. It was designated on November 22nd, 1958.
  • Stone lantern craftwork - It was designated on February 26th, 2004.

Local information

Location

  • 877 Ichinomiya, Iga City, Mie Prefecture

Transportation access

  • Bus
  • * From the “Sindo Station South Exit” bus stop in front of Shindo Station, take the Mie Kotsu bus and get off at the “Aekuni Shrine” stop
  • * From the “Ueno Industry Meeting Hall” bus stop in front of Uenoshi Station, take the Mie Kotsu bus and get off at the “Aekuni Shrine” stop
  • Car
  • * Off Meihan National Highway, immediately from the Iga Ichinomiya Interchange

Related literature

  • 『古事類苑』Imperial Shrine, Aekuni Shrine
  • * 『古事類苑 第9冊』 Refer to frames 168-171
  • Anzu Motohiko's『神道辞典』Shrine News, 1968, p. 1
  • 『神社辞典』published by Tokyodo, 1979, p. 3