Hiyoshi Taisha


Hiyoshi Taisha is a Shinto shrine located in Ōtsu, Shiga, Japan. This shrine is one of the Twenty-Two Shrines. Hiyoshi Shrine, also known as Hiyoshi jinja or Hie jinja.
The West Hall of Worship and the East Hall of Worship have been designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as National Treasures in the category shrines. This shrine heads the seventh largest shrine network in Japan, at about 4,000 shrines.

Enshrined gods

Hiyoshi Taisha was first recorded in Kojiki, written in the 8th century. In the Middle Ages, the Enryaku-ji temple influenced the shrine to include some Buddhist essence.
The buildings of the shrine were burnt when Oda Nobunaga destroyed Enryaku-ji in 1571. The existing buildings were constructed in the last quarter of the 16th century.
The shrine became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period. In 965, Emperor Murakami ordered that Imperial messengers were sent to report important events to the guardian kami of Japan. These heihaku were initially presented to 16 shrines; and in 991, Emperor Ichijō added three more shrines to Murakami's list. Three years later in 994, Ichijō refined the scope of that composite list by adding Umenomiya Shrine and Gion Shrine, which is now known as Yasaka Jinja.
In 1039, Emperor Go-Suzaku ordered that one more shrine be added to the grouping created by Murakami and Ichijō—the Hie jinja. This unique number of Imperial-designated shrines has not been altered since that time.
From 1871 through 1946, the Hie jinja was officially designated one of the ''Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines, meaning that it stood in the first rank of government supported shrines.

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