It is thought that this Hachiman Jinja was founded in 784 by Sakanoue  Tamuramaro (坂上田村麻呂), a court noble who was appointed Shogun by the 50th emperor, Kammu, and commanded to subdue the Emishi people of Tohoku. He built the shrine to use as a base for his campaign and to pray for success in his mission and enshrined the three kami shown to the right. Note that Emperor Ojin is enshrined at all Hachiman Jinja.

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The Minamoto clan, in particular Yorimitsu and Yorimasu, later became patrons of the shrine, as did Ota Dokan and the Ota clan, and the shrine was rebuilt. In the description of the shrine’s history on its home page plaintive notes are struck. Moving into the Meiji Period, much of the shrine’s land was commandeered by the government for three projects.

“Once a mighty shrine possessing four thousand tsubo of land, … it has nevertheless been continually diminished by the impact of national policies at each historical juncture. Is this not its destiny, dating back to ancient times when Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, … designated it as a base for subjugating the Tōhoku region?

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In 1971, plans for the construction of the Shinkansen were completed. These would have the required new tunnel to run directly beneath the shrine, and despite vehement opposition from the shrine and its supporters the plan had to be accepted. However, the authorities did accept that the tunnel would run directly under the shrine office and not under the main hall.

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There is an interesting story to the in-ground Furumine Jinja pictured here. In 1903 about three-quarters of Akabane was destroyed by fire. In the hope of preventing any recurrence of such a tragedy Akabane residents formed a group dedicated to visiting Furumine Jinja in Tochigi-ken, where Yamato Takeru, the Kami of, among other things subduing wildfires, is enshrined. To this day the group visits Furumine Jinja each May.

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Looking at the Akabane Shokon-Sha, this is dedicated to the Imperial Japanese Army Engineer Corps and other Akabane war dead. The reason for the dedication to the Engineer Corps is that in 1887 the Tokyo Government provided land behind the shrine for the Corps when it was relocated from Otemachi. This is one of the events included in the shrine’s plaintive comments about the impact of national policies at each historical juncture

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On a lighter note, and a very contemporary one, the shrine is regarded as a sacred site by fans of the idol group SUPER EIGHT. Until February 2024 the group had been known as Kanjani∞(関ジャニ∞). The infinity mark∞ at the end of the name is also found on some of the shrine’s ema and Goshuin (御朱印, seal stamp given to, more accurately sold to, worshippers and visitors to shrines. An example is shown on the right.

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Still on a contemporary note, but unfortunately a nefarious one, the Asahi Shimbun reported on Sept 12, 2024 that the shrine was being investigated by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau on suspicion of having concealed about ¥250 million in income in the seven years up to 2023. It is alleged that the guji (chief priest) diverted the income for his own personal use.