USA HACHIMAN-GU

It is one of the oldest Shintō foundations in the Archipelago. It controls more than 25,000 shrines scattered throughout Japan. This shrine, dedicated to Hachiman, the god of War, had considerable influence, as it was the patron of the Tōdai-ji temple in Nara. It is known that Kiyomaro Wake was sent by the empress Shōtoku to the shrine in 768 as an emissary, as she wanted to marry the monk Dōkyō. It is also established that Saichō, the founder of the Tendai sect, stopped at Usa on his return from China in 805. In 1556, Sōrin Otomo, Christian daimyō of Funai had the Usa shrine burned down for religious political reasons, and his son, Yoshimune restored it in the 16th century. A walkway crosses the garden across the Yorimi-gawa River to the upper shrine, Kamimiya, once past the Tōgū Shrine. The honden is surrounded by a corridor. A door opens into a large courtyard, in which the shrine's treasury is located. It has ancient paintings, but also nō masks and wooden statues of the Dewa kings. This shrine is an example of classical Hachiman style architecture. The lower shrine, consisting of the Shimo Jinja and the Hishigata Ike, highlights the beautiful garden. The Emadono Pavilion is located in the center of a pond. It is surprising to see that this shrine is ignored by most Japanese people. The number of visitors is quite low compared to its importance. It is located at 10 min by taxi from the station.