Oita: Historical Shrine Renovated for 1,300th Anniversary of Founding; Head of All Hachiman Shrines across Japan

By Kenichi Oishi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

10:12 JST, January 25, 2025

USA, Oita — There are about 40,000 Shinto shrines that are called “Hachimansha” or “Hachimangu” in Japan. These are headed by Usa Jingu shrine in Usa, Oita Prefecture, which will celebrate the 1,300th anniversary of its founding this year.

The shrine began the New Year looking fresh. In 2023, renovation work started on the shrine’s Jogu section, which includes the main halls — a national treasure — and the elaborately decorated Chokushimon gate. The work is mostly finished, and a temporary roof protecting the shrine from wind and rain during the work was removed at the end of last year.

The renovation work was done by Oyama Shaji Kogyosho, a Fukuoka-based builder well-known for its repairs and maintenance of temples and shrines. The company, which also repaired Usa Jingu’s main halls 10 years ago, changed out the cypress bark on the roofs of the shrine’s two-story Chokushimon gate and the adjacent covered passages, and retouched some of the vermillion paint. The shrine’s Saidaimon gate is also being repaired.

“In this milestone year, I hope people will come see this beautiful shrine,” said Masato Oyama, the president of the company.

Walking to the shrine along the Chokushi Kaido road, believed to have been used by chokushi Imperial messengers from ancient times, you will encounter a stately bridge covered by a roof, with one end fitted with a pair of doors and a rounded gable. Called Kurehashi, the bridge measures 25 meters long, 3.6 meters tall and 3.4 meters wide and has been designated as tangible cultural property by Oita Prefecture. As a general rule, the doors to the bridge are opened only when an envoy of the emperor pays a visit to the shrine, which happens once every 10 years.

Nowadays, the Kurehashi bridge is open to the public when the envoy visits, and you can walk across the bridge. The envoy is set to pass through this autumn.

“I hope people will notice the cypress bark roof, and the beauty of the curvilinear architecture,” said Soryu Yamamoto, a junior priest at the shrine.

Making the shrine more accessible to disabled people was a major focus in the latest repairs. In 2022, a graveled road leading to the shrine was partly paved so that wheelchair users may visit the shrine without leaving their seat.

“It’s important to create an environment where everyone finds it easy and comfortable to visit the shrine,” said Takayuki Ono, the shrine’s head priest. “There’s always a way to do things that fits with the times.”

Impact on history

At Hachimansha shrines, Emperor Ojin is worshipped as Hachiman, or the divinity of lasting luck in war. The origins of Usa Jingu date back to 571, when Hachiman supposedly appeared as a child. The shrine marks 725 as the year of its founding, when Hachiman is said to have been enshrined at the current location.

According to the shrine and other sources, Usa Jingu is the birthplace of various traditions and concepts now common at temples and shrines across the country, such as the custom of carrying mikoshi portable shrines; the hojoe event to admonish killing, in which captured birds and fish are released into the wild; and the concept of syncretizing Shintoism and Buddhism. Mikoshi shrines supposedly started with a palanquin for Hachiman, ferrying him to a riot in Kyushu when the Imperial court went to suppress it, or to Nara to attend a Buddhist service for the opening of the eyes of the great Buddha statue.

In 769, a revelation from Usa Jingu that said Buddhist priest Dokyo should ascend to the Imperial throne was reported to Empress Shotoku. Dokyo, a man of great power, had found favor with the empress. Wake-no-Kiyomaro, a loyal Imperial retainer, claimed the revelation was a lie, and thereby saved the Imperial line from interruption. This shows just how influential the shrine was.

Hachiman was venerated by samurai families, and the deity’s shrines spread all over the country. Among these shrines are such famous examples as the Iwashimizu Hachimangu shrine in Kyoto Prefecture and the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine in Kanagawa Prefecture.

During World War II, members of the Imperial Army’s kamikaze squads would visit Usa Jingu to pray for their good fortune in battle. Since the end of war, the shrine has become a tourist spot attracting about 1 million visitors a year. This year will see the broadcast of the anime show “Komekami! Girls,” which takes place in part at the shrine.

“We hope to plan some events so that different kinds of people will come here,” said an Usa municipal government official.

Legend of the giant serpent

At Usa Jingu, there is a legend about a massive snake and a grand staircase called the “Hyakudan” (100 stairs). According to the legend, a snake that wanted to live in Hishigata-ike pond in the shrine grounds asked Hachiman to let it live there in return for it building a staircase with 100 steps overnight. The snake built the first 99 steps before dawn, but then Hachiman transformed into a rooster and announced the break of day, so the snake gave up on living in the pond.