Tsuma Shrine

Tsuma Shrine: The First Shrine of Osaki

Tsuma Shrine (都萬神社, Tsuma Jinja) is a Shinto shrine in Karijuku, Osaki Town, Soo District, Kagoshima Prefecture, whose main hall, worship hall and four subsidiary shrines, all built in 1916, were entered on the national register as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in 2009.

According to the Kagoshima Prefecture Association of Shinto Shrines, Tsuma Shrine was once called Tsuma Gosha Daimyojin (妻萬五社大明神), and its founding date is unknown. It was one of the Tsuma shrines set up in each of the five districts of Hyuga province, with the Tsuma Shrine in Koyu District, Miyazaki, as the head shrine. It stood first at Harada village in Shibushi and was moved to its present site on the 3rd day of the 11th month of 1540; the old site at Harada is still called Furumiya.

The deities are Konohanasakuya-hime and Tachinobe-no-mikoto (Hikohohodemi). Because Konohanasakuya-hime was the consort of Ninigi, the association says, the shrine came to be called Tsuma no Miya, the "consort's shrine". Its annual festivals fall on 25 February and 25 October. Kagoshima Prefecture's tourism site calls it the first shrine of Osaki and one of the five shrines on the traditional Osaki pilgrimage circuit.

The Six Buildings

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that the buildings stand together in the northern part of a precinct on a low hill. The main hall faces south, with the worship hall in front and a covered corridor 3 bays long joining the two. To the west of the main hall stand the Ise Shrine and, beyond it, the Inari Shrine; to the east, the Gorin Daimyojin Shrine and then the Sanno Shrine.

All six date from 1916. The worship hall was renovated in 1997 and the four subsidiary shrines around 2005. The main hall is richly carved, with frog-leg struts bearing reliefs of the twelve zodiac animals and brackets that project in three tiers, while the worship hall is deliberately plain. The Agency notes that the buildings, all from the same period, create a traditional shrine landscape.

The registrations are numbered 46-0086 to 46-0091, all under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. They were registered on 2 November 2009 and announced on the 19th of that month.

Visiting

Kagoshima Prefecture's tourism site says Tsuma Shrine is open all year with no closing days. The address is 1589 Karijuku, Osaki, and there is a car park. By car, take National Route 220 from Kanoya toward Shibushi for about 30 minutes; past the Sanmonji intersection, the shrine is on the left at the top of the slope. The listed phone number is 099-476-0588.

The subsidiary shrines are small and stand in a row on either side of the main hall. Do not touch the buildings, and keep out of the way of worshippers.