Sōja shrine explained
thumb|right| in Sōja, Okayama, where 304 kami of Bitchu Province are collectively worshipped
is a type of Shinto shrine where the kami of a region are grouped together into a single sanctuary. This "region" may refer to a shōen, village or geographic area, but is more generally referred to a whole province. The term is also occasionally called "sōsha". The sōja are usually located near the provincial capital established in the Nara period under then ritsuryō system, and can either be a newly created shrine, or a designation for an existing shrine. The "sōja" can also be the "ichinomiya" of the province, which themselves are of great ritual importance.[1]
Whenever a new kokushi was appointed by the central government to govern a province, it was necessary for him to visit all of the sanctuaries of his province in order to complete the rites necessary for ceremonial inauguration. Grouping the kami into one location near the capital of the province greatly facilitated this duty,[2]
The first mention of "sōja" appeared in the Heian period, in the diary of Taira no Tokinori, dated March 9, 1099 in reference to the province of Inaba. [3]
The name "Sōja" is also found in place names such as the city of Sōja in Okayama Prefecture.
Rokusho shrine (six place) is a very common Soja shrine name.
Provincial Soja Shrines
| data-sort-type="text" | Region | data-sort-type="text" | Province | data-sort-type="text" | Shrine | data-sort-type="text" | Location | data-sort-type="text" | Engishiki Jinmyocho | data-sort-type="text" | Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines | data-sort-type="text" | Beppyo? |
|---|
| Kinai | Yamashiro | unknown | | | | |
| Yamato | unknown | Takatori, Nara | | | |
| Kawachi | | Fujiidera, Osaka | Shikinai Taisha | Son-sha | |
| Izumi | | Izumi, Osaka | | Fuken-sha | |
| Settsu | | | | Fuken-sha | |
| Tōkaidō | Iga Province | unknown | | | | |
| Ise | | Suzuka, Mie | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | |
| Suzuka, Mie | Shikinai Shosha | Son-sha | |
| Shima | | Shima, Mie | | Son-sha | |
| Owari | | Inazawa, Aichi | Shikinai Shosha | Kokuhei Shōsha | Yes |
| Mikawa | | Toyokawa, Aichi | | Ken-sha | |
| Tōtōmi | | Iwata, Shizuoka | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | |
| Suruga | (Kambe Junja) | Shizuoka, Shizuoka | Shikinai Shosha | Kokuhei Shōsha | Yes |
| Izu | | Mishima, Shizuoka | | Kanpei Taisha | |
| Kai | | Fuefuki, Yamanashi | Shikinai Shosha | Son-sha | |
| Fuefuki, Yamanashi | Shikinai Shosha | Son-sha | |
| (3rd location) | Kōfu, Yamanashi | | Ken-sha | |
| Sagami | | Ōiso, Kanagawa | | Gō-sha | |
| Musashi | | Fuchū, Tokyo | | kanpei-shōsha | Yes |
| Awa | | Tateyama, Chiba | | Unknown | |
| (2nd location) | Tateyama, Chiba | | Ken-sha | |
| Kazusa | | Ichihara, Chiba | | Son-sha | |
| (2nd location) | Ichihara, Chiba | | Ken-sha | |
| Shimōsa | | Ichikawa, Chiba | | Son-sha | |
| Hitachi | | Ishioka, Ibaraki | | Ken-sha | |
| Tōsandō | Ōmi | unknown | | | | |
| Mino | Nangū Otabi Shrine | Tarui, Gifu | | Setsumatsusha | |
| Hida | | Takayama, Gifu | | Ken-sha | |
| Shinano | | Ueda, Nagano | | Ken-sha | |
| (2nd location) | Matsumoto, Nagano | | Son-sha | |
| Kōzuke | | Maebashi, Gunma | | Ken-sha | |
| Shimotsuke | | Tochigi, Tochigi | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | |
| Mutsu | | Tagajō, Miyagi | | Son-sha | |
| Dewa | | Tsuruoka, Yamagata | | Gō-sha | |
| Hokurikudō | Wakasa | | Obama, Fukui | | Son-sha | |
| Echizen | | Echizen, Fukui | | Ken-sha | |
| Kaga | | Komatsu, Ishikawa | Shikinai Shosha | Gō-sha | |
| Noto | | Nanao, Ishikawa | | Son-sha | |
| Etchū | Keta Shrine | | | Fuken-sha | |
| Echigo | | Jōetsu, Niigata | | Unknown | |
| Sado | | Sado, Niigata | | Unknown | |
| San'indō | Tamba | | Nantan, Kyoto | | Unknown | |
| Tango | Kono Shrine | | | Kokuhei Chūsha | |
| Tajima | | Toyooka, Hyōgo | Shikinai Shosha | Gō-sha | |
| Inaba | unknown | | | | |
| Hōki | (Sōja-daimyōjin) | Kurayoshi, Tottori | | Ken-sha | |
| Izumo | | Matsue, Shimane | | Ken-sha | |
| Iwami | | Hamada, Shimane | Shikinai Shosha | Son-sha | |
| Oki | (Sōja-daimyōjin) | Okinoshima, Shimane | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | |
| Araki Shrine | Okinoshima, Shimane | | Son-sha | |
| San'yōdō | Harima | Itatehyōzu Shrine | Himeji, Hyōgo | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | Yes |
| Mimasaka | | Tsuyama, Okayama | | Ken-sha | |
| Bizen | | Okayama, Okayama | | Gō-sha | |
| Bitchū | | Sōja, Okayama | | Ken-sha | |
| Bingo | | Fuchū, Hiroshima | | Unknown | |
| Aki | unknown | | | | |
| Take Shrine | Fuchū, Hiroshima | Myojin Taisha | Ken-sha | |
| Suō | | Hōfu, Yamaguchi | | Ken-sha | |
| Nagato | Sōsha-gū (subshrine of Iminomiya Shrine) | Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi | | Setsumatsusha | |
| Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi | | Unknown | |
| Nankaidō | Kii | | Wakayama, Wakayama | | Son-sha | |
| Awaji | | Minamiawaji, Hyōgo | | Son-sha | |
| Awa | | Tokushima, Tokushima | | Son-sha | |
| Tokushima, Tokushima | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | |
| Sanuki | | Sakaide, Kagawa | | Gō-sha | |
| Iyo | | Imabari, Ehime | Shikinai Shosha | Son-sha | |
| Tosa | | Nankoku, Kōchi | | Gō-sha | |
| Saikaidō | Chikuzen | unknown | | | | |
| Chikugo | | Kurume, Fukuoka | | Kokuhei Taisha | |
| Buzen | | Miyako, Fukuoka | | Gō-sha | |
| Bungo | unknown | | | | |
| Hizen | unknown | | | | |
| Higo | | Kumamoto, Kumamoto | | Fuken-sha | |
| Hyūga | | Saito, Miyazaki | Shikinai Shosha | Ken-sha | |
| Ōsumi | | Kirishima, Kagoshima | | Son-sha | |
| Satsuma | subshrine of Nitta Shrine | Satsumasendai, Kagoshima | | Setsumatsusha | |
| Iki | | Iki, Nagasaki | | Son-sha | |
| Tsushima | unknown | | | | |
| Hokkaido | Hakodate Hachimangū | | | Kokuhei Chūsha | | |
Regional Soja Shrines
Regional Soja Shrines are Soja shrines dedicated to a specific region rather than a whole province. These include
See also
Notes and References
- Book: Herbert . Jean . Shinto:At the Fountain-head of Japan . 2011 . Routledge . 978-0-415-59348-9 . 105.
- Book: Bocking . Brian . A Popular Dictionary of Shinto . 2016 . Routledge . 978-1138979079.
- Book: Hardacre . Helen . Shinto: A History . 2016 . Oxford University Press . 978-0190621711.
