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Nishidai

Mita Line

Tōkyō-to, Itabashi-ku, Nishidai 2-6-29

東京都板橋区西台2-6-29

 

天祖神社

 Tenso  Jinja

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November 6, 2018

History

Date of origin is unclear, but according to legend there was a small shrine on top of a round burial mound and during the Shōgunate it was called Shinmei-sha. In March 1873 it was renamed Tenso Jinja and was given village status ranking in the following year.

Description

15 minutes' walk from Nishidai Station. The current main hall dates from 1992. The torii, erected in 1796, is described by the Itabashi-ku Department of Education as the oldest Shinmyō type torii in the ward. Jinja.tokyolovers, however, questions this description, saying that the torii is in fact of the Munakata type. The komainu pair in front of the prayer hall was erected in October 1998.

With the exception of the Inari Jinja, all the in-ground shrines are small stone constructions. Of these the one

Enshrined Kami: 

(Note: numbers in parentheses after kami names refer to position in How Many Kami table) 

Main

Amaterasu Ōkami (55)    天照大

 

From Merged Shrines

None

In-ground Shrines:

Yakumo Jinja   八雲神社

Ise Jinja    伊勢神社

Kizuki Jinja    杵築神社

Kasuga Jinja  春日神社

Sui Jinja      水神社

Inari Jinja      稲荷神社

 

​Annual Festival:    September 21

which will catch the eye of most visitors, although strictly speaking not a jinja, is the one known as Oshiwabuki-sama (おしわぶき様) or Shabuki-sama(しゃぶき)様): it is a representation of a phallus, which, until the Shin-butsu Bunri was housed in a nearby temple,  Kyōtoku-ji (京徳寺). It is described on the shrine's information board as a shintai and as an ishigami (石神, (lit. "stone god".)  Japanese abounds in homophones, and the character for stone, 石 ishi,, can also be read as "seki," meaning cough, which is written with the character 咳, and by a process of transference Oshiwabuki is seen as safeguarding the faithful against coughing and infectious diseases in general.  Additionally, there is a clear link between the phallus and childbirth and Oshiwabuki seen as helping with the latter.

Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi

(Click on images to expand them)

Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
a400.JPG
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
a124.JPGTenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
Tenso Jinja  天祖神社  Tōkyō, Itabashi
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