Hikosan Jingu

Quick facts

Address

1 Hikosan, Soeda, Tagawa, Fukuoka

Spiritual entities

Izanagi (伊邪那岐命) · Izanami (伊邪那美命)

About this place

Hikosan Jingu is in Soeda, Fukuoka. Its chief deity is Masakatsu Akatsu Kachihayahi Ame no Oshihomimi, with Izanagi and Izanami enshrined alongside. The mountain was once called the mountain of the sun’s child, Hikosan written with those characters; in 819, under Emperor Saga, those two characters were changed to a single character also read hiko, and in 1729, by the decree of the retired Emperor Reigen, the character for “excellent” was granted, giving Hikosan its present written form. From the medieval period Buddhism was joined to the worship of the deity here, and the mountain flourished as a Shugendo training hall under the name of its gongen; with the separation of gods and buddhas at the Meiji Restoration it became Hikosan Shrine, and on 24 June 1975, with the emperor’s permission, it was renamed a jingu, the third in the country to be so named after the war. Its stated virtues are as guardian deity of agricultural production, of mines and of safety in factories, and as a deity of fortune in winning.

Origin and history

The mountain was once called the mountain of the sun’s child. In 819, under Emperor Saga, the two characters of that name were changed to a single one, and in 1729, by the decree of the retired Emperor Reigen, the character for “excellent” was granted, giving the present written form.

From the medieval period Buddhism was joined to the worship of the deity here, and the mountain flourished as a Shugendo training hall under the name of its gongen. With the separation of gods and buddhas at the Meiji Restoration it became Hikosan Shrine, and on 24 June 1975, with the emperor’s permission, it was renamed a jingu, the third in the country to be so named after the war.

The chief deity is Masakatsu Akatsu Kachihayahi Ame no Oshihomimi, with Izanagi and Izanami alongside. Its virtues are as guardian of agricultural production, of mines and of safety in factories, and as a deity of fortune in winning.

What it is locally associated with

• Origin

  Renamed twice

  The two characters of the old name were changed to one in 819, and in 1729 a decree granted a further character, giving the present written form.

  documented history

• Power spotProtection & SafetyCareer & Work

  Guardian of fields, mines and factories

  Its virtues are as guardian deity of agricultural production, of mines and of safety in factories, and as a deity of fortune in winning.

  documented history

• What people do here

  From gongen to shrine to jingu

  It flourished as a Shugendo hall, became Hikosan Shrine at the separation of gods and buddhas, and was renamed a jingu on 24 June 1975.

  documented history

This mountain has had its name altered twice. It was the mountain of the sun’s child; in 819 Emperor Saga replaced two of its characters with one, and in 1729 a decree of the retired Emperor Reigen granted it a further character meaning “excellent”. Both changes came from above, and both are dated. Temples on this list changed names by moving; a mountain, which does not move, having its name rewritten twice by decree happens only here.

The list of virtues is unusual too. Guardian of agricultural production, of mines, of safety in factories — fields, mines and factories in the same line. Taking on the safety of a particular trade is the shape of Himuro Shrine in Nara, which belongs to the ice makers, and of Sukunahikona Shrine in Osaka, which belongs to the pharmacists’ street. What differs here is that factories are among them.

The shrine also writes down its own institutional breaks. It flourished as a Shugendo hall under its gongen name; the separation of gods and buddhas made it Hikosan Shrine; and on 24 June 1975 it was renamed a jingu. A form that flourished was cut off, and the name changed again. Tamaki Shrine in Nara and Nanzo-in in Fukuoka record their own discontinuities in the same way.

Related guides

• What a "power spot" actually isA modern Japanese coinage, not a traditional religious category. Where the word came from, what it does and does not claim, and why this site uses it anyway.

Sources

1. 御祭神と由来 — Hikosan Jingu (accessed 2026-08-15)