Minashi Shrine
Encyclopedia
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
shrine located in the city of Takayama
Takayama, Gifu
is a city located in Gifu, Japan. As of July, 2011 the city has an estimated population of 92,369. The total area is .Takayama was settled as far back as the Jōmon period. Takayama is best known for its inhabitants' expertise in carpentry. It is believed carpenters from Takayama worked on the...
, Gifu Prefecture
Gifu Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
for the shrine are also sometimes read as Suimu. The full name is Hida Ichinomiya Minashi Shrine (飛騨一宮水無神社 Hida Ichinomiya Minashi Jinja), as it was once the main shrine
Ichinomiya (disambiguation)
Ichinomiya is historically the supreme shrine in each of the old provinces of Japan, and currently the name of several places in Japan:*a city:**Ichinomiya, Aichi containing the shrine of the old province Owari...
of Hida Province
Hida Province
is an old province located in the area of Gifu Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province was in the Tōsandō area of central Honshu.-History:...
.
History
There are no official records marking the construction of the shrine, but it is believed that it was constructed during the reign of Emperor SeiwaEmperor Seiwa
was the 56th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Seiwa's reign spanned the years from 858 through 876.-Traditional narrative:...
during the late-9th century.
Because of firebombing activities during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Minashi Shrine served as a refuge for Atsuta Shrine
Atsuta Shrine
is a Shinto shrine traditionally believed to have been established during the reign of Emperor Keikō located in Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in Japan. The shrine is familiarly known as Atsuta-Sama or simply as Miya...
's Kusanagi
Kusanagi
is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called but its name was later changed to the more popular Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi .-Legends:...
from August 21 to September 19, 1945.