Nouso Hachimangu

Shrine · Fukuoka

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In short

It began when Empress Jingu, on her way back from the campaign in the three Han, chose the grove of Nouso as sacred ground; the word people spoke at the parting gave the town of Iizuka its name.

Nouso Hachimangu in Iizuka. — Ginger1192 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Quick facts

Address: 2-3 Miyamachi, Iizuka, Fukuoka
Spiritual entities: Emperor Chuai (仲哀天皇) · Empress Jingu (神功皇后) · Hachiman (八幡神)

About this place

Nouso Hachimangu is in Iizuka, Fukuoka. It began some eleven hundred and sixty years ago, when Empress Jingu, on her way back from the campaign in the three Han, chose the grove of Nouso — the present precinct — as sacred ground, enshrined the deities of heaven and earth there and held a rite. At that time the people said to one another that they hoped to look upon her face again some day; and that word for some day, itsuka, is held to be the origin of the name Iizuka. A shrine hall was built in 1359, and in 1924 it was raised to the rank of prefectural shrine. Its deities are Emperor Ojin, Emperor Chuai, Empress Jingu, Takenouchi no Sukune and the deities of heaven and earth. Its benefits are safety in the household, safety in traffic, success in entrance examinations, prosperity in business, the growth of enterprises, first shrine visits, warding off misfortune, recovery from illness, safe birth, the seven-five-three, weddings, prayers for victory and the purification of vehicles.

Origin and history

It began some eleven hundred and sixty years ago, when Empress Jingu, on her way back from the campaign in the three Han, chose the grove of Nouso — the present precinct — as sacred ground, enshrined the deities of heaven and earth there and held a rite.

At that time the people said to one another that they hoped to look upon her face again some day; and that word for some day, itsuka, is held to be the origin of the name Iizuka.

A shrine hall was built in 1359, and in 1924 it was raised to the rank of prefectural shrine. Its deities are Emperor Ojin, Emperor Chuai, Empress Jingu, Takenouchi no Sukune and the deities of heaven and earth.

What it is locally associated with

Origin
Some day became Iizuka
The people said they hoped to look upon her face again some day, and that word, itsuka, is held to be the origin of the name Iizuka.
folk tradition
Origin
Ground chosen on the way home
Empress Jingu, returning from the campaign in the three Han, chose the grove of Nouso as sacred ground and enshrined the deities of heaven and earth.
folk tradition
Power spotFamily & HomeExams & StudyMoney & ProsperityProtection & Safety
From household safety to victory
The benefits include household and traffic safety, entrance examinations, business prosperity, warding off misfortune, recovery from illness, safe birth and victory.
documented history

The name of this town comes from something said at a parting. That they hoped to look upon her face again some day — the people said it to one another, and that word for some day is held to be the origin of the name Iizuka. Something said to a person you are about to stop seeing became the name of a town.

Other places on this list took their names from events. Umi Hachimangu, in the same prefecture, stands where Emperor Ojin was born and the land came to be called Umi for it. Tanzan Shrine in Nara stands on the hill that came to be called the hill of talking after a secret conference. A birth, a conversation, a farewell — three names, each made of what happened.

Empress Jingu chose this ground on the way back from her campaign. In the same prefecture, Furougu at Okawa is where the white heron appeared on the return, and Shinozaki Hachiman in Kitakyushu begins with a birth during the triumphal return. Fukuoka on this list is made of homeward journeys more than outward ones.

The benefits begin with safety in the household, then traffic safety, entrance examinations, prosperity in business, the growth of enterprises, first visits, warding off misfortune, recovery from illness, safe birth, the seven-five-three, weddings, victory and the purification of vehicles.

Claims and evidence levels 2

The shrine transmits that Empress Jingu chose the grove of Nouso as sacred ground on her return from the three Han, and that the word itsuka spoken at the parting gave Iizuka its name. folk tradition
A shrine hall was built in 1359, and in 1924 it was raised to the rank of prefectural shrine. documented history

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