Mitsumine Shrine

Mimine Shrine is said to have been built during the eastern expedition of Takemikoto. It once flourished as a training center for mountain priests and is still an object of worship for the Mimine Ko.

Recently, the shrine has been attracting attention as a power spot, and is especially known as a shrine for marriage.

This shrine is one of the Chichibu Sanja (three shrines) along with Chichibu Shrine and Hodosan Shrine, and has an unusual three-torii gate in front of the worship hall.

The shrine worships a wolf as its guardian deity, and instead of guardian dogs, statues of wolves sit in various places in the shrine.

The main hall, built in 1661, is in the Ikkensha-Kasuga-zukuri style, and the shrine grounds have a stately atmosphere that evokes an old history.

The worship hall, built in 1800 (Kansei 12), is also in the Gongen-zukuri style and has a splendid appearance and presence.

The shrine is crowded with visitors during the New Year’s Day Prayer Festival and the Setsubun Festival every year. The sight of people visiting and praying is vibrant and energetic.

According to legend, during the reign of Emperor Keiko, Nihon no Musunon ascended the mountain where Mimine Shrine stands today on his way to the east and built the shrine in memory of Izanagi no Musunon and Izanagi no Musunon.

It is said that when Emperor Keiko toured the eastern part of Japan, he praised the three mountains surrounding the site, Mt. Shiraiwa, Mt. Myohogadake, and Mt. Undori, and gave them the name “Sambine Shrine.

It is also said that after Enno Shokaku was exiled, he went to Mt. Mimine to practice asceticism, and that Kukai enshrined a statue of the Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) there.

The similarity between the name “Mimine” and “Kumano” suggests that Kumano Shugen was deeply involved in the founding of Mimine. Kumano has “large Kumatori” and “small Kumatori,” and the central mountain in Mt. Mimine is called “Mt.

From the Middle Ages onward, Mt. Mimine was known as the Shugendo training center of the Nikko lineage and was revered by the warlords of the Kanto region. In 1195, Hatakeyama Shigetada, who ruled Chichibu, dedicated a petition to the mountain, and it is said that a spiritual power appeared. Since then, a large area of land was donated from Usugo (around Ryogami, present-day Ogano-cho) to the Kai region, and the mountain became a sacred place free from the control of the guardians and flourished as the faith of the warriors of the eastern provinces.

However, in 1352 (Shohei 7), Nitta Yoshinori, Yoshimune, and others were defeated by the Ashikaga clan, and they went into hiding on Sambu Mountain, which led to the loss of the shrine’s territory and its decline.

In the Bungei era (1501-1504), the ascetic Gekkan Doman found this abandoned temple and recommended its restoration over 30 years, and the hall was rebuilt in 1533.

Later, the mountain master Ryuei appealed to Shogoin in Kyoto about his plight, and Shogoin bestowed upon him the title of “Daigongen” (Great Gongen). As a result, Miminesan prospered as the head temple of the Shogoin school of Tendai Shugen in the Kanto region.

The main hall was called “Kannon-in Koun-ji Temple” and was also known as “Sambine Daigongen. Later, the head of the temple was adopted by the Hanayama-in family, and it was customary for him to become a priest of the temple.

The temple’s official crest became the “Ayamebishi,” the crest of the Hanayama-in family.

In the Edo period (1603-1867), wolves inhabiting the mountains of Chichibu came to be worshipped as protectors of crops, as household animals from boars, etc., and as messengers of the gods.

People called the wolves “Inu-sama,” which they interpreted as a deity protecting them from theft and misfortune. As a result, receiving wolf talismans from the Company (gofukujin worship) became popular.

Shugenja worked hard to spread the existence of the Company’s deities, and faith groups called “Sambine Ko” were formed in the Kanto and Tohoku regions to make pilgrimages to the Company.

During the reign of Ina Tadafuku, the Ina clan (originally a family of Kanto county governors, but temporarily deprived of their family name due to a family feud, later becoming a small fiefdom in Chichibu County) donated land and forests to the temple, which prospered by spreading the faith among the villagers.

However, due to the policy of separating Shintoism and Buddhism during the Meiji era (1868-1912), the temple was abolished and renamed “Mimine Shrine. In 1883 (Meiji 16), the shrine was listed as a prefectural shrine under the modern shrine ranking system.

In the middle of the Meiji period (1868-1912), the shrine office had facilities that could accommodate up to 600 people, and it is said that homemade food and sake were served to visitors. In the late Taisho period (1912-1926), the number of kosha also increased as the number of believers increased nationwide due to the visitation of Prince Chichibu.