Omi Shrine Explained

Omi Shrine
近江神宮 (Omi Jingu)
Map Type:Japan
Coordinates:35.0324°N 135.8512°W
Religious Affiliation:Shinto
Type:Former kanpeitaisha
Chokusaisha
Beppyo jinja
Deity:Emperor Tenji
Established:1940
Location:1-1, Jingu-cho, Otsu-shi, Shiga Prefecture, JAPAN, 314-0031
Architecture Style:Omi-zukuri
Festival:Reitaisai (April 20th)

or Omi Shrine is a Jingū shinto shrine in Ōtsu, a city in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It was constructed in 1940 and is dedicated to Emperor Tenji.[1] It was formerly an imperial shrine of the first rank (官幣大社, kanpei taisha) in the Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines.

The shrine is located near Ōmijingūmae Station.

History

The shrine is dedicated to Emperor Tenji (626-671), the 38th emperor of Japan.[2] [3] Emperor Tenji carried out the Taika Reforms and aimed to complete the reform in the capital city, which was located on the west bank of Lake Biwa.[4] He moved the Japanese capital from Asuka to Ōtsu in 667.[3] [5] Emperor Tenji also presided over the establishment of the first rōkoku, or Japanese water clock system, which was installed in 671.[6] [7]

The proposal for this shrine to Emperor Tenji was first considered by Japanese Diet in 1908.[3] The construction of the shrine started in 1937 and was finished by November 7, 1940.[4] [8]

Layout and design

The shrine is surrounded by a large forest.[2] Its main gate and buildings are painted red.[2] The complex is located near the Otsu Palace.[2]

Omi shrine pavilions were constructed by a method of Omi-zukuri, and it is listed in the Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan.

There are a multitude of facilities within the precinct of the shrine, including Ichi-no-Torii (一の鳥居: First gate), Ni-no-Torii (二の鳥居: Second gate), Syagō Hyō (社号標: Stone pillar on which shrine name is engraved), Temizusha (手水舎: Purification font), Yuisho Kōsatsu (由緒高札: Official bulletin board about the origin), Rōmon (楼門: Tower gate), Ge-haiden (外拝殿: Outer Haiden), Nai-haiden (内拝殿: Inner Haiden), Honden (本殿: Main hall), Kaguraden (神座殿: Hall for a sacred symbol), Tokeikan Hobutsukan (時計館宝物館: Treasure hall of clock museum), Hidokei (日時計: a sun-dial), Rokoku (漏刻: water clock), Kodai Hidokei (古代火時計: Ancient fire clock), Jidosya Kiyoharae-sho (自動車清祓所: Purification place for cars), Seishō Yōhaiden (栖松遙拝殿: The hall to worship kami from afar), Karuta gaku (かるた額: Frame for karuta), Haraedo (also known as 'harae-dokoro,' or 'harae-dono')(祓所: a site where harae is performed), Komorebi no Michi (木洩れ日の道: The road of sunlight filtering through trees), Tokei Gakko (時計学校: The clock School), Omi Kangakukan (近江勧学館: Omi school), and Zen-an (善庵).[9]

Monument status

National treasure of Japan

Search in the online database of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan for country's designated cultural properties[10]

Important cultural properties of Japan

Search in the "Cultural Heritage Online" of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan [12]

Registered tangible cultural property of Japan

Search in the "Cultural Heritage Online" of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan [12]

Monuments inscribed with poems (tanka and haiku)

Poem monuments made by the carving of famous tanka and haiku on natural stone is known as kuhi (句碑) and kahi (歌碑), respectively. The Omi shrine has 13 poem monuments.[15]

Omi Jingu Tokei Museum (Clock Museum)

In the precincts of this shrine, the Omi Jingu Clock Museum displays various clocks centering on roukoku and Japanese clocks.[2] [16]

Festivals and annual events

A Water Clock Festival, Rokoku-sai, held in honor of the first water clock in Japan installed at the shrine, takes place around June 9–10, the day when the water clock is thought to have been installed.[16] [17] [18] [19] The preceding day features a Japanese tea ceremony performed by the Sen Sōshitsu, grand tea master of the Urasenke, one of the three san-Senke.

The Japanese national championship competitive karuta tournament, Karuta Matsuri, takes place here every January, on the first Saturday and Sunday after the New Year holiday.[20] The Grand Champions are awarded the title Meijin (men's division) and Queen (women's division), and a seven-time Grand Champion is known as an Eternal Master. The national championship for high school students is held every July.[21] The tournaments take place here as Emperor Tenji composed the first poem of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu poetry collection forming the basis of the game.[21]

Another annual festival, Reisai, is held on 20 April, the anniversary of Otsu establishment as the capital during Emperor Tenji reign.[4]

The list of annual celebrations and events

The following recurring events take place at the Omi Shrine:[22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ご事績・ご神徳 (Official Omi shrine homepage . 2014-01-09.
  2. Web site: Historical Spots -Otsu Tourism Association . 2014-01-05 . Otsu.or.jp.
  3. Book: Stuart D. B. Picken . Historical Dictionary of Shinto . 28 December 2010 . Scarecrow Press . 978-0-8108-7372-8 . 229–.
  4. Book: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan: Niju-Saka . Kodansha . 1983 . 978-0-87011-626-1 . 102.
  5. Book: The Cambridge History of Japan . . 1993 . 0521223520 . Hall . John Whitney . 1.
  6. Book: Sasaki Sanmi . Chado the Way of Tea: A Japanese Tea Master's Almanac . August 2005 . Tuttle Publishing . Translated by Shaun McCabe and Iwasaki Satoko . 978-0-8048-3716-3 . 293.
  7. Book: Jien . The Future and the Past: A Translation and Study of the Gukanshō, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219 . . Translated by Ichirō Ishida . 1979 . 0520034600 . Brown . Delmer Myers . Ishida . Ichirō.
  8. Web site: Official Omi Shrine Homepage . 2014-01-02.
  9. Web site: 境内図と境内各所のご案内 (Official Omi shrine homepage. 2014-01-09.
  10. Web site: the online database of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan for country's designated cultural properties . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190630231514/http://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/ . 2019-06-30 . 2014-01-09.
  11. Web site: Otsu City Museum of History . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140110090132/http://www.rekihaku.otsu.shiga.jp/bunka/data/bz_127.html . 2014-01-10 . 2014-01-09.
  12. Web site: Cultural Heritage Online of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140125091536/http://bunka.nii.ac.jp/Index.do . 2014-01-25 . 2014-01-09.
  13. Web site: heritageId:168835, Cultural Heritage Online of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan . 2014-01-09.
  14. Web site: heritageId:198866, Cultural Heritage Online of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan . 2014-01-09.
  15. Web site: 境内の歌碑・句碑 (Official Omi shrine homepage) . 2014-01-09.
  16. Web site: Omi-jingu Shrine - Hello Japan - Japan Travel Guide . 2014-01-05 . Hellojapan.asia.
  17. Web site: Omi Jingu Shrine : Travel Guide of Shiga Prefecture,Japan - go.biwako . 2014-01-05 . En.biwako-visitors.jp.
  18. Japan National Tourism Organization, Lake Biwa, Otsu and Hikone
  19. Book: Helaine Selin . Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures . 12 March 2008 . Springer . 978-1-4020-4559-2 . 2134.
  20. Web site: EVENT -Otsu Tourism Association . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130207223515/http://www.otsu.or.jp/en/event/index.htm . 2013-02-07 . 2014-01-05 . Otsu.or.jp.
  21. http://en.biwako-visitors.jp/newsletter/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/%E8%8B%B1%E8%AA%9E_2.pdf Omi Shrine, the setting for the popular comic book "Chihayafuru"
  22. Web site: The list of annual celebrations (Official Omi shrine homepage) (年間祭典行事一覧) . 2014-01-09.

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