Kawashima Jinja

Kawashima  means the island in the river, Jinja means shrine.

The Shrine Master  is Mr Shigeyuki Kamada

Gods Worshipped

1.Ame-no-Hiwashi-no-mikoto

 An ancestral  God who introduced grains, cotton and paper.

2. Emperor Oujin (15th   emperor)

An ancient  emperor who introduced and encountered literature and Industry.

3. Sugawara-no-michizane
An ancient  scholar who has been worshipped for academic progress.

History
The Kawashima shrine is  located on the Shiro-yama (it means the castle mountain) next to the Kawashim  castle). Shiro-yamam (about 35 feet high) is the small rocky spur of the  Shikoku mountain range, actually the point is called ‘the nose of rock’.On the  Shiro-yama, you have the Shikiku mountain range behind you. In front, the  Yoshino river runs below surrounding an island of 1000 acres. Beyond the river,  you can see the stretch of plain and the Sunuki mountain range in the distance.
In the West,  you can see that the Sanuki mountain range and Shikiku mountain range meet in  the far distance. In the East, both of the mountain ranges become increasingly  wider apart. The Kawashima  Shrine originated from the Ukishima shrine (it means floating island) on the  island in Yoshino river. According to the legend, the Ukishima shrine was  established in AD 673 and had been treated as one of the prestigious shrines in  our community.

 

The name of  the Kawashima Honai shrine (Honai means inside the fort) was printed on the  piece of rafter which was used in rebuilding in 1629. The shrine had been paid  respect by the Lord of the manor, the Lord of Kawashima fort and the Lord of the  castle since the middle ages.

The record  said when Dokan Hayashi, the Lord of Kawashima castle, went to the Korian War in  1594, he prayed for victory and donated a sword and saddle. The generations of  the Lord Inada prayed for the continuance of their luck in was and donated rice  every year. Rice was equivalent to money then. In 1872 it was designed as the  village shrine and in 1908 it was given a higher rank.

In 1915 when  the Yoshino river had a maintaining construction, the island, the Zennyuji  island was registered as not suitable for living on. So 50 families and 5  shrines, including the Ukishima shrine had to move either side of the river.  Celebrating the new Emperor’s succession, the new shrine was built on the South  Side of the river, at the current place.

In 1916 the  Ukishima shrine, including 4 shrines from the island was renamed as the  Kawashima shrine merging 42 shrines from  Kawashima town.

 Shiro-yama  is the right place for the shrine. It is a solemn place surrounded by lots of  trees and had 50 feet of riding ground in front. The building was designed  accordingly in a classic style.

In 1943 the  Kawashima shrine was again given a higher rank.

 Festivals  and Ceremonies  

1. New Year festival (New Year day):   greeting of a new year and praying for the success of agriculture and   community. People start to come to the shrine just after midnight to pray.

2. Spring Festivals (the first Sunday of   April) to pray for a good harvest.

3. Summer Festivals (July): walking   through the circle which is made of reed in front of the shrine, to pray for   health and to purify the body and mind. The custom came from mythology.

4. Autumn Festival (22nd of   October): a compact shrine is carried and handed over by the community. Also,   the ceremony which is rare in this country is called ’75 trays ceremony’ 75   types of food from the mountain, field, sea and river were cooked on a   purified fire and served, by the shrine master and the community.

5. Thanks Giving (December)

6. Community praying ceremony (January):   the shrine master prays for the community’s prosperity.