HASHIRIDA JINJA
走田神社
HASHIRIDA JINJA 走田神社
Hashirida Jinja is a small shrine built on the edge of a forest on the hillside. It is counted as one of the nineteen important shrines of the Otokuni area. It is a shrine of the agricultural gods where the community has historically prayed for a good harvest.
This has been a prestigious shrine since the Heian period (794 to 1185). There are still some annual events that have origins going back over one thousand years. It is reached by climbed up the stone steps.
Every January, the neighborhood children gather to make Shimenawa rope with a thickness of about 20 cm and hang it in the middle of the stone steps on the approach. Twelve Ghoei (Sakaki branch and paper streamer) are attached to the Shimenawa, and the way they hang dictated the annual climate and fertility of the surrounding farm lands.
The Matoyauchi ceremony is held every year on January 13th. It is still performed by the descendants of Kageyuzaemon Takahashi, who used to be the owner of Okukaiinji Castle. Two people shoot six arrows each toward a target with a diameter of about 1.3 meters. Each of the 12 arrows represents the 12 months, and if you hit the black dot in the middle of the target, it is judged that there will be a good harvest.
From the top of the hill you can overlook the old battlefield of the Battle of Yamazaki, where Akechi Mitsuhide and Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi fought in battle. The Mitsuhide army and Hideyoshi army confronted each other at the foot of the protruding Mt. Tenno, which can be seen off in the distance.