Hiratsuka Hachiman Shrine, the only shrine in Sagami Province
Divine virtues
First shrine visit, safe childbirth, protection from misfortune, safety of the home, prosperity in business, road safety, improvement in the arts, etc.
Enshrined deities
Emperor Ojin
Empress Jingu
Takeuchi no Sukune
History
Hiratsuka Hachiman Shrine was founded in 380, the 68th year of the reign of Emperor Nintoku, when a huge earthquake struck the area. Emperor Nintoku (the 16th emperor) was unable to bear the suffering of the people and built a shrine here.
Since then, as the only Hachiman Shrine in the entire Sagami Province, it has been revered by successive emperors and samurai, including Minamoto no Yoritomo. In particular, the inscription "Chinchi no Okami" on the red seal is a calligraphy piece bestowed by Empress Suiko (the 33rd emperor). Thus, the shrine attracted many revered people, but during the Sengoku period, it was burned down in war, and the main building, treasures, and biographies of the shrine were all reduced to ashes.
In the midst of all this, Tokugawa Ieyasu restored the dilapidated main building of Hiratsuka Hachimangu when he entered Edo.
In the Edo period, Hiratsuka Hachimangu became a key transportation hub where the Tokaido road ran east to west, the road to Suga, which was a shipping port, and the road to Atsugi and Oyama intersected, and the area in front of the shrine flourished, and Daimon-dori, the town in front of the shrine, is said to be the birthplace of commerce in Hiratsuka.
After the Meiji period, the city of Hiratsuka continued to develop further with the opening of the Naval Explosives Arsenal to the north of the shrine. The main building collapsed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, and the current building was completed in 1928. After the war, the shrine came to be deeply revered by the people of Hiratsuka and those with connections to the city as the town grew peaceful and prosperous, and was celebrated with the Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival and other events. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hiratsuka's municipal incorporation, it became a sister city with Takayama City in Gifu Prefecture, which dates back to the first year of the Kanji era (1087), when a branch of Hiratsuka Hachimangu Shrine's deity was enshrined in Takayama.
The divine virtue of the great god of Hiratsuka Hachimangu Shrine, which has such a history, is said to protect us from major disasters that we cannot solve on our own, heal our wounded bodies and minds, and give us the strength to move forward, as represented by Chinji-no-Okami.
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#Sagami Province One and only shrine Hiratsuka Hachimangu Shrine
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