Utsunomiya Futaarasan Shrine

The name of Utsunomiya is said to derive from the fact that this shrine was once called “Ichinomiya” in Shimono.

It is said that the history of Utsunomiya began about 1,600 years ago, together with Mt. Futaarasan.

The shrine has a long history, dating back to its founding about 1,600 years ago, when it was dedicated to Toyojo-Irihiko no Mikoto, the founder of Utsunomiya.

Utsunomiya is a city that flourished around the Futaarasan Shrine, and the shrine remains the spiritual home of the people of Utsunomiya to this day.

Most of the city’s festivals are held at Futaarasan, and many citizens visit the shrine at each milestone in their lives, such as New Year’s, Shichigosan, and prayers for entrance exams.

The shrine is home to two precious treasures: a set of komainu (guardian dogs) made of iron and a beautiful 38-ken star helmet. Both are designated as national important art objects. At night, the approach to the shrine and the gate are beautifully illuminated.

Utsunomiya Futaarasan Shrine is located in Utsunomiya City. It is one of the Shiki-uchi-sha (Meishin-taisha) and is also known as the first shrine in Shimono-kuni. The shrine used to have the status of a national medium-ranked shrine, and currently belongs to the Annexed Shrines of the Jinja Honcho (the Shinto Shrine Headquarters). The shrine’s crest is “Mitsuboe” (chrysanthemum with three emblems).

The official name of the shrine is “Futaarasan Shrine,” but it is called “Utsunomiya Futaarasan Shrine” to distinguish it from the shrine of the same name in Nikko. It was also once called “Utsunomiya-daimyojin. It is also commonly known as “Futarasan”.

This shrine is located at the top of Mt. Myojin (Usugamine, about 135 m above sea level) in the center of Utsunomiya City.

Toyojo-irihiko-no-mikoto is the main deity and has been revered since ancient times. Utsunomiya has developed as the town in front of the shrine. The family known as the Utsunomiya clan is also well known for having been transformed from a shrine family into a warrior family.

The shrine building has been destroyed by fire many times since its foundation, but the present building was rebuilt in 1877 after it was destroyed by fire during the Boshin War (1877-1868).

The shrine is home to a number of cultural assets, including a 38-ken star helmet and iron guardian dogs, both of which are designated as national important art objects.

According to shrine legend, the history of Utsunomiya Futaarasan Shrine dates back to the 41st year of Emperor Nintoku. According to shrine legend, the history of Utsunomiya Futaarasan Shrine dates back to the 41st year of Emperor Nintoku, when the province of Motono was divided into Shimono and Ueno provinces, and the king of Shimono, Narabetsu-o, enshrined his great-grandfather, Toyoshi-irihiko-no-mikoto, as the local deity. However, it is also said that before Toyoshi-irihiko-no-mikoto, the deity of the area, was enshrined at the shrine by Omotonokuni-no-mikoto, who was summoned from Mount Miwa. Local people believed that worshipping at this shrine would bring them the blessings of all the shrines in Shimono-no-kuni, and the shrine became a place of worship.

The first shrine was located in Araozaki, on the south side of the main street across from the present site (where the regent shrine Shimonomiya now resides), but in 838 the shrine was moved to its present location on Usukagamine (Mt. Myojin).

There are a number of shrines with the name “Futaarasan Shrine,” mainly in the Kanto region, but two in particular, Utsunomiya Futaarasan Shrine and Nikko Futaarasan Shrine, are known as the oldest shrines. The shrine is listed in the Engishiki Shinmeicho (the Engi-style Shinto name book) of the mid-Heian period as “Futaarayama Shrine, Kawachi-gun, Shimono-kuni,” but there is some debate over its attribution with Nikko Shrine (see “Futaarayama Shrine”). Later, the shrine’s rank advanced to Shoichi, and it was designated as the first shrine in Shimono-kuni (although Nikko-sha also claims the title of Ichinomiya).

Toyojo-no-Irihiko-no-mikoto was also a warrior, and famous warlords such as Fujiwara Hidesato, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, Minamoto no Yoshiie, Minamoto no Yoritomo, and Tokugawa Ieyasu are said to have prayed to him for victory in battle and made various donations and renovations to the shrine. It is said that Fujiwara Hidesato used the sacred sword given to him at the shrine to defeat Masakado during the Taira-no-Masakado War. Also, according to “Tale of the Heike,” when Yoichi Nasu shot at a target on board a Heike ship during the Battle of Yashima, he prayed to “Nikko Gongen, Utsunomiya, and Nasu no Onsen Daimyojin.

It is also believed that Fujiwara Soen, the first head of the Utsunomiya clan and the founder of Utsunomiya Castle, served as the shrine’s chief priest. The Utsunomiya clan began when Muneen Fujiwara became related to the Shimomeno or Nakahara clans, which were powerful families in the area and the seat of the Company at that time. The Utsunomiya clan ruled the entire area along the Meno River (then the Kinugawa River) and contributed to the maintenance of security in the Kanto region for about 500 years from the end of the Heian Period. The Oda and Takemochi clans, who were the protectors of the Jochiku Province, were also related to the Kiyo and Sei clans, which ruled the eastern bank of the Meno River and the Kogaigawa River basin.

The name “Utsunomiya” is said to be derived from this shrine. However, there are some theories that the name is a corruption of Ichinomiya, that it is a corruption of the word “relocated shrine,” that it is the present shrine of the god Futaarayama, and that it was called “Utsukushikimiya” after Toyoshi-irihiko-no-mikoto, who lived in this area as a superintendent of the eastern provinces and ruled the country, which was then corrupted into “Utsunomiya. The name “Utsukushikimiya” was changed to “Utsunomiya.

In 1498, the shrine was rebuilt by the 17th head of the family, Utsunomiya Naritsuna. On March 17, 1887 (Meiji 20), the Ministry of Home Affairs issued Instruction No. 15, “Kankoku Shoinsha Hozenkin System,” which allocated funds for the preservation of Kankoku Shoinsha for 15 years.

In 2014, the “Kaen Taiko float” was restored. In 2016, the “Momotaro Float,” which was used in the Kikusui Festival until 1913, was restored and revived. The Momotaro float is approximately 3.7 m long, 2.7 m wide, and the maximum height is 5.65 m. In 2016, two flags with the chrysanthemum crest used by the new government forces in the Boshin War during the Battle of Shimono were discovered at our company. The white raw silk Gomon no Banner has chrysanthemums drawn in ink on white silk, measuring 332.4 cm in length and 58.9 cm in width, and is inscribed “Dedicated to the Utsunomiya Clan. The “Kiku Gomon Beni Shihan” is made of red silk with chrysanthemums drawn on it, measuring 164.8 cm in length and 154.9 cm in width, and is inscribed “Dedicated to the General Staff of Nozu”.

Precincts of the Shrine

Our shrine pavilions used to be rebuilt every 20 years. However, since the Warring States Period, it was destroyed by fire or loss of fire several times. Specifically, the shrine was destroyed by fire during the invasion of Utsunomiya by the Go-Hojo clan in 1585, the Great Fire of Utsunomiya-juku in 1773, a fire in 1832, and the First Battle of Utsunomiya Castle in the Utsunomiya War (Boshin War) in 1868. The current shrine pavilion was rebuilt as a temporary shrine by the new Meiji government in 1877. The stone wall in front is from the Edo period and indicates that it was built in the 3rd year of Koka.

The main shrine building is in the Shinmei-zukuri style, and rituals are performed in the Kaguraden. The precincts of the shrine also include a Shinto gate, a hall of worship, and a Myojin-no-i well. There are several springs in Utsunomiya, and the spring water of Myojin-no-i was known as one of the “seven famous waters” of Utsunomiya in the Edo period. It is said that Emperor Meiji used this water for tea ceremony when he visited Utsunomiya.

Also on the temple grounds is a 9.7-meter-high, 13.8-meter-wide grand torii gate made of a 400-year-old zelkova tree from Tochigi Prefecture. This torii gate is a reconstruction of the Ryobe Torii of the same shrine from the Edo period. The former torii gate was destroyed by fire in an air raid during World War II, and the Myojin torii gate was built in 1946, but due to its age, the current torii gate was built in 2008.