Izumo Daijingu Shrine (出雲大神宮)
Izumo Daijingu Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture. It is the Ichinomiya (highest ranking shrine) of Tanba Province listed in the Jinmyocho (Register of Deities) of the Engishiki (procedures of the Engi era) (Myojin Taisha). It was ranked as a Kokuhei Chusha under the old shrine classification system and became independent of any comprehensive religious corporations such as the Association of Shinto Shrines following the World War II. The shrine was previously named Izumo-jinja Shrine. It is generally referred to as 'Moto Izumo' and 'Sennen-gu' due to the Mt. Sennen mountain in which the deity was traditionally believed to dwell to the rear of the shrine. Until the Meiji period, Izumo Taisha Shrine was named Kizuki Taisha Shrine and therefore the name Izumo-jinja Shrine referred to this Izumo Taisha Shrine until the end of the Edo period.
The 'Izumo' described by Kenko YOSHIDA in the 236th column of Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness) which reads 'There is a place called Izumo in Tanba' refers to this particular shrine.
Confusion may arise with regard to names but this shrine is different from the Izumo Taisha Kyoto Branch Shrine in Shimoyada-cho, Kameoka City.
Enshrined deities
The main enshrined deities are Okuninushi no mikoto and Mihotsuhime no mikoto which are enshrined along with Amatsuhikone no mikoto and Amenohinatori no mikoto. Okuninushi no mikoto is also known by the names Mihotsuhiko no okami and Mikage no okami. Mihotsuhime no mikoto is the daughter of Takamusubi and legend states that she became the empress of Okuninushi during his transfer of the land.
One theory claims that the three deities Amatsuhikone no mikoto, Amenohinatori no mikoto and Mihotsuhime no mikoto are enshrined at Izumo Daijingu Shrine, whereas an alternative theory claims that originally only Mihotsuhime no mikoto was enshrined.
It is believed that Okuninushi no mikoto was separated and transferred from Izumo Taisha Shrine (Kizuki Taisha) in Izumo Province but there is also the theory claiming that it was in fact the reverse and that the deity of Izumo Taisha Shrine was transferred from Izumo Daijingu Shrine, which is colloquially referred to as 'Moto Izumo.'
"Tanba no Kuni Fudoki" (A Topography of Tanba Province) records that 'Emperor Genmei transferred Okuninushi no mikoto alone to the land of Kizuki in Shimane during the Wado era (708-715).'
History
The exact time that Izumo Daijingu Shrine was founded is not known but according to shrine legend, the shrine was constructed on November 30, 709. The first historical reference to the shrine appears in "Nihongi Ryaku" (Summary of Japanese Chronologies) in an article for the 16th day of the 12th month of the year 818 (old lunar calendar) which states 'Izumo-sha Shrine in Kuwata County, Tanba Province has a rank of Myojin Taisha' - indicating that the shrine was already influential by this point in history. It is the listed as a Myojin Taisha in the Jinmyocho (Register of Deities) of the Engishiki (procedures of the Engi era). In 1292, the shrine was granted the highest possible rank of Shoichii (Senior First Rank).
Buildings
The current main sanctuary was repaired by Takauji ASHIKAGA in 1345 and has been nationally designated an Important Cultural Property.
There were once 36 auxiliary and subsidiary shrines but these were lost to fires arising from various conflicts so that now only the six shrines Kami-no-yashiro, Kurodayu-sha, Shoden-sha, Kasuga-sha, Inari-sha and Sujin Tenno-sha remain.
Cultural properties
Main sanctuary
2 wooden seated statues of male gods (designation includes another seated statue of a male god)