Katsuraki Imasu Hono Ikazuchi-jinja Shrine (葛木坐火雷神社)
The Katsuraki Imasu Hono Ikazuchi-jinja Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Fuefuki, Katsuraki City (former Fuefuki, Shinjo-cho), Nara Prefecture. It is a Shikinaisha (one of the shrines listed in the Register of Deities) and Myojin Taisha (a shrine dedicated to a famed deity), which was ranked as a Gosha (Rural District Shrine) in the Meiji Period. It is commonly called Fuefuki-jinja Shrine.
Enshrined Deities
The main deity of the shrine is Hono-Ikazuchi-no-O-Kami, while Amaterasu-no-O-Mi-Kami, Takamimusubi, Ninigi-no-Mikoto and Ikohitobe-no-Mikoto are enshrined as joint tutelars. The deity originally enshrined at Katsuraki Imasu Honoikazuchi-jinja Shrine was Hono-Ikazuchi-no-O-Kami, and Ame-no-Kaguyama-no-Mikoto was the deity enshrined at Fuefuki-jinja Shrine.
Hisory
The time in which the shrine was founded is unknown but Shrine legend tells that it was established during the reign of Emperor Jinmu. The first written reference to the shrine appears in "Montoku Tenno Jitsuroku" (The True History of Emperor Montoku of Japan), which states that the shrine was granted the Senior Third Rank on April in 852. According to "Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku" (The True History of Three Reigns of Japan), the shrine was awarded the Junior Second Rank on January 27 in 859. The Engishiki Jinmyocho (a list of shrines) describes the shrine as 'upper and lower Katsuraki Imasu Hono Ikazuchi-jinja Shrines in Oshimi-no-Kori or Oshimi-gun in Yamato Province,' ranks it as a Myojin Taisha (shrine dedicated to a famed deity), states that it receives offerings at the Tsukinami, Ainame, Niiname Ceremonies. After this, however, no record on this shrine has been found. According to Shinto tradition, the power of the shrine declined during the Heian Period, and it is said to have become the auxiliary shrine of Fuefuki-jinja Shrine.
Fuefuki-jinja Shrine is considered to have been founded by Fuefuki Muraji (muraji: an ancient hereditary title) based in the area. The enshrined deity, Ame-no-Kaguyama-no-Mikoto, was the ancestral deity of Fuefuki Muraji. Behind the main hall (honden) is a burial mound which is said to be the grave of Taketasaku-no-Mikoto, the father of Kajiko (the ancestor of Fuefuki Muraji).
In 1874, Honoikazuchi-jinja shrine, which had been the auxiliary shrine of Fuefuki-jinja Shrine, was enshrined along with Fuefuki-jinja Shrine, and the name of the shrine was changed to Katsuraki Imasu Honoikazuchi-jinja Shrine, becoming ranked as a Gosha.