普通の外にいくつかの著名な品質を持っている、と畏敬の念を起こさせるあるいかなるビーイングは、カミと呼ばれています。
Tōkyō-to, Meguro-ku, Nakameguro, 3-10-5
November 15, 2025
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中目黒八幡神社
Meguro Hachiman Jinja
東京都目黒区中目黒3-10-5
Nearest station: Nakameguro Lines: Tōyoko (T03) Hibiya Subway (H01J)
As most of the relevant documents have been destroyed by fire the origins of this Hachiman Jina are unclear. There is a theory that it may have been during the 1660s when the Edo Bakufu was encouraging the construction of Hachiman Jinja in rural areas in an attempt to deepen its ties with the peasantry by having them worship Hachiman, the guardian deity of the Minamoto clan. There are also references to the shrine in a document dating to 1763. In 1825 the Shinpen-Musashi-Fudo-Kiko tells us that ‘”there is a Hachiman-Gu in the west of the village, 12 kagura are played during the festival.” The shrine prides itself on its performance of twelve kagura dances, which its says have been performed since ancient times. These are the centrepiece of the annual festival held in September.
The current shrine buildings were all completed in 1936.
Enshrined Kami:
Main
Emperor Ōjin 応神天王
In-ground Subordinate Shrines:
Mitsumine Jinja 三峯神社
Annual Festival: 4th Saturday and Sunday of September
I must acknowledge the assistance of a good friend, Rino Urano Kato, in the preparation of the following sections.
The Sazari-ishi (さざり石, lit. Ripple Stone) in the shrine grounds is very interesting. There are various types of ripple stones. In this case it denotes “calcareous conglomerate” – rock formed when substances such as calcium carbonate fill the gaps between small stones, gradually coalescing into a single large mass over long periods.” To quote from the English translation of the Ripple Stone notice board, ‘It (The Ripple Stone) was erected (in 1998) in the hope that the reign of the Emperor, as sung in the national anthem “Kimigayo” will continue to prosper for many years to come.”
Following are the relevant lines from Kimigayo; the translation is by Basil Hall Chamberlain.
今は小石であるものが
時代を経て、あつまりて大いなる岩となり
till what are pebbles now
By age united to mighty rocks shall grow
I must confess to a complete sense of bafflement when first seeing this ema. However, It is the kanji 厄 “yaku” written upside down. Yaku means misfortune or evil, or anything in between, and writing it upside down is thought to reverse all its bad connotations in line with the proverb 災いを転じて福となす,( ajiwai-wo-tenjite fuku to nasu lit. rotate misfortune into blessings)
click images to expand
Mitsumine Jinja
三峯神社
