Oyama Shrine (Kanazawa)
The Oyama Shrine ( Japanese 尾 山 神社 , Oyama-jinja ) is a Shinto shrine in the Japanese city of Kanazawa ( Ishikawa Prefecture ).
The main kami is Maeda Toshiie ( 前 田 利 家 ; 1538-1599), a former general under Oda Nobunaga and later under Toyotomi Hideyoshi , as well as ruler of the province of Kaga and first daimyo of the fiefdom of Kaga . In the year of Toshiie's death, the shrine was built in his honor on the orders of his successor, Maeda Toshinaga ( 前 田 利 長 ; 1562–1614). The name of the shrine at the time was initially Utatsu Hachiman-gū , as it stood on the nearby Utatsu Mountain ( 卯 辰 山 ) until 1873 . Then it was moved to its current location in Oyama-chō ( 尾 山 町 ), today's district of Kanazawa.
Particularly striking about the shrine is its Shinmon ( 神 門 , "God Gate"), the construction of which began on November 25, 1875. The approximately 25 meter high building has an unusual European architectural style for Shinto shrines. The gate was declared an Important Cultural Property of Japan on August 29, 2015 .
Festivities
From 12 to 14 and June 13 to 15 at the Shrine is the Kanazawa Hyakumangoku- Matsuri ( 金沢百万石まつり , literally "one-million- koku -Fest", an allusion to the wealth of the former fief Kaga) celebrated throughout Kanazawa since 1923 and dedicated to the commemoration of Maeda Toshiie's entry into Kanazawa Castle . It was known as Kanazawa-Matsuri from 1888 to 1946, and the festival has had its current name since 1952. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
Web links
- Photo gallery - Japanese
Individual evidence
- ↑ （国 指定） 尾 山 神社 神 門 . Kanazawa, accessed January 3, 2014 (Japanese).
Coordinates: 36 ° 33 '58.73 " N , 136 ° 39' 20.74" O