Hachiman Shrines in Japan

The Hachiman shrines are the second most popular set of shrines in Japan after the Inari shrines. Hachiman is a popular deity in Japan and is considered the Shinto God of war and the divine protector of the Japanese people. These set of shrines are patronized by the Minamoto clan of warriors in Japan.

The deity is revered by peasants and fishermen and is supposed to bless them with a good catch and harvest and also looks after the well being of the general public in general. It is believed that the 15th emperor of Japan Ojin has been elevated to the position of God and is always accompanied by his mother empress Jingo, and the goddess Hime Gami.The first shrine which was dedicated to Hachiman was built around 725 AD and more than half of the shrines in Japan are dedicated to Hachiman.

The deity has been one of the most respected ones from the Nara period and has commanded respect from all sections of the society. Since the Heian period the deity has been shown as a guise of the Buddhist monk.The deity of Hachiman has been revered with the title of Daibosatsu, first among the Japanese divinity to be awarded such a title perhaps a celebration of the unique blend of foreign and indigenous elements.

However during the turbulent periods which started after the Meiji Imperial Restoration of 1868 in which the emperor gained sovereignty, Shinto was restored as the official state religion and there were restrictive policies in place for other religions. This led to the removal of the objects and structures that were related to Buddhism.

The worshipping of Hachiman really took off during the medieval period and today there are over thirty thousand shrines in the whole of Japan.Among the numerous shrines dedicated to Hachiman the most famous one is the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine in Kamakura which has influences of both Shitno Buddhist elements.
This shrine was founded by Minamoto Yoriyoshi in 1063 and was reworked and rebuilt by Minamoto Yoritomo, widely regarded as the first shogun and founder of the Kamakura Government, after a century or so.

The main buildings of the shrine have the spirits associated with Hachiman enshrined on them and there is a treasure house which features some of the valuables of the shrine. This shrine has a mammoth influx of visitors, numbers of whom may go up to a few million each year. This makes this shrine one of the most visited shrines in the country cutting across all other groups' of shrines.

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