Imamiya shrine
The Imamiya Shrine ( Japanese 今 宮 神社 , Imamiya-jinja ) is a Shinto shrine in the Murasakino district in the Kita-ku district of the Japanese city of Kyoto .
The shrine complex is located in a grove with large trees northwest of Daitoku-ji Temple . It consists of the main hall ( honden ) and several side shrines.
The revered deities ( kami ) are:
- Onamuchi no mikoto
- Kotoshironushi no mikoto
- Kushinadahime no mikoto
Susanoo no mikoto is venerated in a side shrine .
history
The shrine is said to have been founded in Heian-kyō , as Kyoto was called at that time, before the imperial palace was built in 794 .
In 994 the shrine was moved to a Mikoshi , a portable Shinto shrine (or palanquin) in which the kami travel by means of stored Shintai ("god body").
The shrine was relocated to the Murasakino area in the north of the imperial city in 1001 after an epidemic occurred there. Now the Imamiya Shrine became “the present shrine; new shrine "called. Most of the current buildings were rebuilt in 1902.
Yasurai Matsuri
The shrine is famous for its shrine festival ( Matsuri ) Yasurai Matsuri ( Sch 須 礼 祭 ), which takes place on the second Sunday in April. It is one of the three most important Matsuri in Kyoto. At this shrine festival, young men dance in Oni costumes . Oni are mostly ugly characters with long red or black hair. In the earliest legends, Oni were good-natured beings capable of repelling evil spirits and punishing evildoers. The oni of Yasurai Matsuri are supposed to drive away the evil spirits that drove the Kami of Health out of the shrine, so that health is guaranteed for the district again for the rest of the year. They wear red robes and black or red wigs with long, shaggy hair. The young men roam the neighborhood and dance to flutes and drums until they fall into a kind of trance state.
The conclusion of the Matsuri is the dance before honing. This is to make it easy for the deities of the shrine to return to the shrine.
Two other shrine festivals are also among the attractions of the shrine: On October 8 and 9, the traditional ceremonial dances azuma-asobi are performed. On May 5th, the portable shrines ( Mikoshi ), which are among the largest and heaviest in the old imperial city of Kyoto, are carried through the streets.
Web links
- Shrine website (Japanese, English)
- Green Shinto: Yasurai Festival (English)
- Green Shinto: Imamiya shrine (English)
Coordinates: 35 ° 2 ′ 45.6 " N , 135 ° 44 ′ 31.3" E