Katsushika Hachimangu Shrine

A Hachiman shrine that serves as the chief guardian shrine protecting Shimosa Province, transferred from Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine in Kyoto during the Kanpyō era (889–898) in the Heian period by imperial prayer of Emperor Uda. It is also the origin of the nearby place name “Yawata.”

The enshrined deities are Hondawake-no-Mikoto (Emperor Ojin), Okinagatarashihime-no-Mikoto (Empress Jingu), and Tamayorihime-no-Mikoto, and it received deep devotion from the Imperial Court as well as successive provincial and district governors. In particular, because of the deities’ achievements and the name “Katsushika (Katsu-shika),” it drew the devotion of samurai who hoped for blessings such as sure victory and warding off misfortune for better fortune. Warriors of each era, including Taira no Masakado, Minamoto no Yoritomo, Ota Dokan, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, made donations and carried out rebuilding and repairs of the shrine buildings.

There are many highlights, including the Senbon Ichō (thousand-trunk ginkgo), a sacred tree said to be Approx. 1,200 years old and designated a National Natural Monument, and a Kamakura-period temple bell said to have been unearthed from the base of a zelkova tree on the grounds when it fell as a windbreak. You can also receive the goshuin of Shirazu Mori Shrine inside “Yawata no Yabu Shirazu,” known as a sacred area near the Hachimangu Shrine, here as well.