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Mikado Jinja 神門神社 / 神門（みかど）神社
This shrine is located in Misato Cho, Mikado village 美郷町南郷区神門 in the north of Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu.
In this shrine a Korean Emperor has become the main deity for more than 1000 years. 禎嘉帝 Teika-O, also known as Kudara no Ookimi, Kudara no Miko 百済王. When the Emperor lost his power to the enemies, he and his family fled to Japan and settled in the Nara region. After more troubles they ended up in Miyazaki, Kyushu.
Their ships got into a storm, and Father Teika-O landed at Kanegahama beach in now hyuuga town 日向市の金ヶ浜f, while his sun Fukuchi-O landed at Kaguchi-Ura near Takanabe village 高鍋町の蚊口浦. But they were found out by their enemy and Taika-O died by an arrow during a battle. His son Kachi-O 華智王 also died during this battle.
According to the local legend, the shrine has been built in 718 - 養老２年. It preserves a lot of treasures with a Korean flavor.
At the shrine Hiki Jinja 比木神社 in 木城町, the deity Fukuchi-O 福智王, the eldest son of Teika-O, is venerated.
He goes to visit his father at Mikado Jinja during a special festival parade once a year.
The simple shrine is located in a lonely pine forest and tended to by the local people. It is supposed to be the former residence of Teika-O.
Most of its history is still shrouded in mystery.
It preserves part of the nature worship of ancient religions.
- reference : www.gurunet-miyazaki.com
shiwasu matsuri 師走祭り ／神門御神幸 Shiwasu festival
December in the old lunar calendar, now on the last weekend in January.
One of the most impressive "fire festivals" of Japan.
Along the road where the god travels to visit his father, there are 32 (?12) huge bonfires of pine branches, which produce large pillars of fire (hibashira) and sparks for the participants to purify their body and soul.
During some parts of the festival, the participating villagers are not allowed to talk.
Priests take the object of veneration out of Hiki shrine and carry it along a road of 90 km (23 里) to Mikado shrine - agari mashi 上りまし .
In former times it took 10 days to reach Mikado Shrine.
On the first day near Mikado shrine for this procession, 32 huge bonfires to welcome him are lit along the way - mukaebi 迎え火.
These fires date back to the legend of Teika-O and the battle where he found his death, when they had lit many fires to distract and ward off the enemy.
One priest carries the box with the "Deity" on a spear hoko 鉾 on his back. This is said to be the beginning of a mikoshi procession with a portable shrine.
A lot of hoko have therefore been given as offerings to this shrine (more that 1000 . . .)
On the second day 18 elected men from the village have to take water ablutions in the nearby river, to "wash the robes" - o-i arai お衣洗い / 洗濯神事, because the robes of the deity had been changed at his arrival at Mikado Shrine.
Masumi Taro 益見太郎 was the local clan leader who had helped Taika-O to hide. At his grave mound Don Taro san mairi ドンタロさん参り is now performed.
Kagura dances are also performed till late in the night.
On the third day the son is paraded back to his own shrine - kudari mashi 下りまし. On this day people paint each other's faces black with charcoal from the hearth - heguro nuri へぐろ塗り and must laugh a lot and make merry, even if they feel sad that the deity is leaving already.
Half way the villagers of Mikado shrine have to stop and can only wave to the departing procession. They carry pans and pots and wave and make noise and shout "Osarabaa" オサラバー (Good bye) as long as they can see the parade.
This is the origin of the word osaraba.
SARA is a Korean word meaning "Please stay alive and come back to meet us again!"
- - - Look here for more photos:
- source : www.gurunet-miyazaki.com
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Evidence of the Baekje royal family legend Shiwasu Matsuri
The Baekje royal family legend is a lore explaining how the members of the Baekje royal family, who were conquered in the Korean Peninsula and separately drifted to seashores of Miyazaki, meet once a year, and it is the Shiwasu Matsuri festival that reproduces this legend. This film is a record of all the stages of this festival that has been held for the last 1300 years until the present day. At present, Teikaoh, the father of the Baekje royal family, is enshrined to Mikado Shrine and Fukuchioh, the son, is enshrined to Hiki Shrine, as a deity, respectively.
The Shiwasu Matsuri festival, held at the end of January every year, takes a ritual form in which the object of the worship of Fukuchioh, son, and the object of the worship of Teikaoh, father, meet each other once a year, and ceremonies of praying for abundant crops and calamity elimination and prevention, safety delivery, and others are combined with this legend to form one festival.
- source : bunkashisan.ne.jp
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source : www.pref.miyazaki.lg.jp
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比木神社 Hiki-jinja Hiki Shrine
It is said that several members of the royalty and high-ranked warriors of Baekje, an ancient kingdom located in southwest Korea, came to Japan in exile after they were defeated by the alloed forces of Tang and Silla. One of them Prince Fukuchi (in Japanese) arrived at Kaguchiura in present Takanabe Town in 660 and lived in the town of Kijo 木城町.
The place where his house was located was called Hiki (火棄) by local people.
Tough unable to understand their language, local people respected the prince and his retainers, who had high level of knowledge. After the prince died, he was enshrined as Hiki Daimyojin. In 852, the kanji representing its name were changed to “比木” and Hiki Shrine was established.
Prince Fukuchi at Hiki Shrine and his father, Prince Teika enshrined at Mikado Shrine meet each other once a year at Shiwasu Festival of Mikado Shrine. It is a Shinto ritual to console the princes and their royal retainers, who had to leave their homeland and lost their lives in a foreign country.
1306 Shiinoki, Kijo-cho, Koyu-gun, Miyazaki Prefecture 884-0102
- source : nippon-kichi.jp
- further reference -
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. hi matsuri 火祭り fire festivals of Japan .
. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja 神社) - Introduction .
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