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Nearest station

Nishi-Magomei

   Asakusa Line

Tōkyō-to, Ōta-ku,  Chūō 6-3-24

東京都大田区中央6-3-24

太田神社

   Ōta Jinja

Home page (Japanese)

March 15, 2018

Enshrined Kami:  

Main

Homuda-wake-no-mikoto       品陀和氣命

From Merged Shrines

Okitsuhiko-no-kami         澳津彦神

Okitsuhime-no-kami        澳津姫神

Ukanomitama-no-kami    宇迦之御魂神

Takaokami-no-kami         高龗神

In-ground Shrines:

Inari-sha                              稲荷社

Kibune-sha                          貴船社

Kama Jinja                           竃神社

 

Annual Festival:  The Friday, Saturday, and Sunday immediately                                  preceding May 15 

History

There is no documentary evidence as to when this shrine was founded, but as it is mentioned in the Shinpen and its betto-ji was Chōshō-ji (長勝寺, Tōkyō-to, Ōta-ku,  Chūō 6-6-5, said to have been founded in 1646) it has probably been in existence since at least the mid-Edo Period. In the past it has been known by various names, including Shohachiman-Gū  (正八幡宮) and Kaunhachiman-Gū (家運八幡宮); the present name was adopted in 1868 along with the Shin-butsu Bunri.

There are two, unauthenticated, theories about who the shrine was named after. The first candidate is Ōta Yasusuke (太田康資), a 16th century samurai whose fief the territory was, and who was venerated as its tutelary deity. The second is Ōta Dōkan, who is said to have considered the site as a possible location for Edo Castle.

The shrine was basically destroyed in the firebombing of May 24, 1945, but its shintai (sacred body of the kami) had been moved to Chōshō-ji and escaped damage. The shintai is a

Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社

wooden figurine of Hachiman Daibosatsu wearing full Japanese court dress with an inscription on its back by Nasu no Yoichi. He was a samurai who fought alongside the Minamoto in the Genpei War and the Hachiman Daibosatsu is said to be his mamori-honzan, "a treasured object kept from birth to death."

In 1953 the prayer hall was rebuilt and in 1994 the main hall was rebuilt as a ferro-concrete building.

Description

About 1.2 kms away from Nishi-Magome Station. There are 63 stairs on the sandō leading up from the torii, and given the way the jinja overlooks the city it is easy to see why it was considered as a potential site for Edo Castle. The koma-inu in front of the prayer hall date to 1901. The shrine is now a kenmusha of Kami-shinmei-tenso Jinja in Shinagawa. Starting with the torii there are purple banners emblazoned with the slogan "一願必中" (ichiganhicchu) at various places in the shrine. This was the personal slogan of Nasu no Yoichi and can be translated as "through the power of prayer nothing is impossible."

(Click on images to expand them)

Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
Ōta Jinja Tōkyō, Ōta-ku 太田神社
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