Umi Hachimangu

Quick facts

Address

1-1-1 Umi, Umi, Kasuya, Fukuoka

Spiritual entities

Empress Jingu (神功皇后) · Hachiman (八幡神) · Izanagi (伊邪那岐命)

About this place

Umi Hachimangu is in Umi, Kasuya, Fukuoka. Returning from the campaign in the three Han, Empress Jingu fixed her place of delivery at the village of Kata, and holding on to the branch of a pagoda tree growing beside her she gave birth safely to Emperor Ojin; this land was therefore called Umi. The shrine was founded in the reign of Emperor Bidatsu, around 570, when the mother and child deities, Empress Jingu and Emperor Ojin, were first enshrined. Five deities are enshrined: the mother and child Emperor Ojin and Empress Jingu, together with Tamayorihime, the Sumiyoshi deity and Izanagi. Transmitted as the holy ground where the Hachiman deity was born, the shrine holds a particularly deep devotion for safe birth and the raising of children, and is called the great deity who keeps children safe.

Origin and history

Returning from the campaign in the three Han, Empress Jingu fixed her place of delivery at the village of Kata, and holding on to the branch of a pagoda tree growing beside her she gave birth safely to Emperor Ojin. This land was therefore called Umi.

The shrine was founded in the reign of Emperor Bidatsu, around 570, when the mother and child deities were first enshrined. Five deities are enshrined: Emperor Ojin and Empress Jingu, with Tamayorihime, the Sumiyoshi deity and Izanagi.

Transmitted as the holy ground where the Hachiman deity was born, the shrine holds a particularly deep devotion for safe birth and the raising of children, and is called the great deity who keeps children safe.

What it is locally associated with

• Origin

  A birth that became a place name

  The land where Emperor Ojin was safely born was called Umi, and that is still the name of the town.

  folk tradition

• Origin

  Holding on to a branch

  She fixed her place of delivery at the village of Kata and held on to the branch of a pagoda tree growing beside her.

  folk tradition

• Power spotFertility & ChildrenFamily & Home

  The deity who keeps children safe

  As the holy ground of the Hachiman deity’s birth, the shrine holds a deep devotion for safe birth and child-rearing and is called the great deity who keeps children safe.

  documented history

The name of this place comes from a birth. The land where Emperor Ojin was safely born was called Umi, and that is still the name of the town. Events that became place names recur on this list: Tsubosaka-dera in Nara from a crystal jar left at the top of a slope, Tanzan Shrine from a secret conference held on a hill. Here it is a delivery that became the name.

The detail transmitted is physical. She fixed her place of delivery at the village of Kata, and held on to the branch of a pagoda tree growing beside her. Even the branch she gripped comes down with the account, and that one scene is why the devotion for safe birth gathers here.

Five deities are enshrined, the mother and child at the centre, with Tamayorihime, the Sumiyoshi deity and Izanagi alongside. Tamayorihime is also enshrined at Hakozakigu and at Kamado Shrine, making this the third Fukuoka page on this list to carry her.

The founding is placed in the reign of Emperor Bidatsu, around 570, when the mother and child were first enshrined. As the holy ground of the Hachiman deity’s birth, the shrine is now called the great deity who keeps children safe.

Related guides

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Sources

1. 宇美八幡宮について — Umi Hachimangu (accessed 2026-08-15)