is an ancient Japanese Shinto

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 in Tokorozawa, Saitama

Tokorozawa, Saitama

is a city in Saitama, Japan. It is located in the central part of the Musashino plain, about 30 km west of downtown Tokyo. Tokorozawa can be considered part of the greater Tokyo area; its proximity to the latter and lower housing costs make it a popular bedroom community.-Location:Tokorozawa...

.

History

Hatogamine Hachiman

Hachiman

In Japanese mythology, is the Japanese syncretic god of archery and war, incorporating elements from both Shinto and Buddhism. Although often called the god of war, he is more correctly defined as the tutelary god of warriors. He is also divine protector of Japan and the Japanese people...

 Shrine is believed to date to 921

921

Year 921 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.-Africa:* Crushing defeat of the Idrisid dynasty against their Fatimid rivals...

 A. D. when a ground purification ceremony was held there. Shrine records state that it was repaired in year 1232 and that in the year 1333 the famous Samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

 commander Nitta Yoshisada

Nitta Yoshisada

was the head of the Nitta family in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period, capturing Kamakura from the Hōjō clan in 1333....

 prayed at the shrine during the Kōzuke-Musashi Campaign

Kozuke-Musashi Campaign

The Kōzuke-Musashi campaign was a rapid and direct assault during the Japanese Genkō War by Nitta Yoshisada that led up to the Siege of Kamakura in 1333. It consisted of a number of battles over a brief period...

 against the Kamakura

Kamakura shogunate

The Kamakura shogunate was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate...

 Shogunate. The on the grounds is believed to date from that time and is where Nitta hung his helmet while praying.

In year 1591 when the future Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

 began the tradition of donating lumber for the shrine that was maintained by every Shogun until the end of the Edo Period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 in 1867.

The main hall rests on a wooded hilltop and dates before 1333 and is one of the few such ancient structures in Saitama

Saitama Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...

.

The shrine is dedicated to the Shinto gods Hondawakano-mikoto, Himegami, and Kinagatarashihimenno-mikoto.

Festivals

The major festivals and Suitengu held are:

• January 1 – Gantansai (New Year’s Festival)
• January 5 – Reitaisai (Annual Festival / Daruma Fair)
• March 15 – Harumatsuri (Spring Festival)
• April 15 – Reitaisai (Annual Festival)
• July 15 – Natsu-Matsuri (Summer Festival)
• September 15 – Aki-matsuri (Autum Festival)
• November 23 – Niinamesai