Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion

TOKYO

TOKYO 60 TOKYO TOKYO 61 Akasaka Hikawa Jinja DATE FOUNDED: Founded in 951, according to shrine tradition. The current buildings date from 1730. ADDRESS: 6-10-12 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052 TEL/INFORMATION: 03-3583-1935 HOW TO GET THERE: Nanboku Subway Line to Roppongi-itchome Station, then about 10 minutes by foot. Or the Chiyoda Subway Line to Akasaka Station, and then about 10 minutes by foot. ENSHRINED KAMI: Susano-o no mikoto, Kushinadahime no mikoto, and Onamuji no mikoto. PRAYERS OFFERED: Protection against danger, find love and marriage, and the wellbeing of the family. BEST TIMES TO GO: The grounds contain cherry trees that bloom near the end of April and ginkgo and maples which turn yellow and red in the fall. Also, the third weekend in September in odd-numbered years, for the Hikawa Matsuri. I mportant physical features: The shrine was established in 951 during the reign of Emperor Murakami (r. 946–67). The present shrine was built at the behest of Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684–1751), the eighth Tokugawa shogun, when he had it moved here from nearby Akasaka Mitsuke. It is a small, modestly appointed, gongen-zukuri structure (with the haiden, heiden and honden connected under one roof), none of the usual carving, and a limited use of gold. This is said to be due to the attitude of frugality that was a hallmark of Yoshimune’s administration . The honden is in nagare-zukuri style, and the haiden is irimoya-zukuri. The latter has a small step canopy in front with a karahafu supported on two pillars. The roof is covered in copper tiles called dobuki-ita, which imitate ceramic tiles and were a favorite of the Tokugawa; they are used extensively at shrines such as Nikko Toshogu. A veranda encircles the haiden, and all the exterior wood is painted in       els above the tie rods of the haiden, both of which are in black lacquer. There is also a pent roof for rain protection, supported on decorative metal poles, that encircles the haiden. It was probably added in the early twentieth century . The interior of the haiden and heiden is decorated between the unpainted wooden pillars and above the tie beams with paintings    !     tatami   !heiden is level with that of the haiden. The ceiling is cof-      !   fauna that were created in 1929. The steps to the honden, visible in the interior, are painted in red lacquer. Among the many trees on the Decorated ceiling of the haiden of Akasaka Hikawa Jinja MAP 1 62 TOKYO grounds is a four-hundred-year-old ginkgo tree (ginkgo biloba). I mportant spiritual features: The kami enshrined at Hikawa Jinja are a husband , wife, and child group that are central to one of the main Shinto myths, relating to the “age of the gods” and the creation of Japan. (The story of these kami can be read elsewhere in this book, such as the entry for Izumo Taisha and the introduction). Akasaka is the name of the area in Tokyo where the shrine is located. Hikawa means “cold” or “frozen river” and is thought to originate from the Hikawa River in the Izumo region on the Japan Sea coast. People from that area spread farther north along the Japan Sea as well as southward into the Kanto Plain, settling in the area known as Musashi (present-day Saitama, Tokyo, and parts of Kanagawa). During the reign of Emperor Kosho (r. 475–393 B.C.) the kuni no miyatsuko or governor of Musashi was appointed from a member of the Izumo clan. The Kojiki notes that his ancestor was the grandson of Susano-o, Takehira tori no mikoto. It is speculated that he brought the divided spirit of Susano-o from Kizuki Taisha (now called Izumo Taisha) on the Hikawa to Musashi, and enshrined it at Omiya Hikawa " ]   +            Susano-o being worshipped outside Izumo. Omiya Hikawa Jinja claims a foundation date of 473 B.C. and is the place from which the spirit of these kami was divided to 261 Hikawa shrines, 162 of them in Saitama. The remaining shrines are located mostly in the Kanto area, and a large number of them cluster along the Arakawa River, which forms much of the present-day border between Tokyo and Saitama. Akasaka Hikawa Jinja too is a bunsha (branch shrine) of Hikawa Jinja in Omiya and enshrines the same three kami. D escription: Like Hie Jinja...