Take Shrine

Take Shrine, read "Take-jinja," stands in Miya-no-machi in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima, and is also called Enomiya. Its chief deities are Emperor Jimmu and Akitsuhiko no Mikoto, regarded as the founder god of Aki Province, and Empress Jingu, Emperor Ojin and Onamuchi no Mikoto are enshrined alongside them. It is the successor of the Myojin Taisha "Take Shrine" listed in the Engishiki and also of the Aki Province Soja, so its history is built from two layers.

Shrine tradition holds that it was founded on the site where Emperor Jimmu stayed for seven years during his eastern expedition, a place the Kojiki calls Takeri no Miya and the Nihon Shoki calls Enomiya. The name of the site, Tagaso no Mori, is said to come from the emperor asking "Sa wa tare so?" ("Who is that?") during his stay. In the Middle Ages, however, the shrine lost strength amid warrior conflicts and its location was forgotten. In the Edo period, Matsuzaki Hachimangu and the Soja shrine disputed which of them was the true heir of the Take Shrine in the Engishiki. In 1873 both were abolished, a new shrine was built on the present site, and the deities of both were enshrined there. That is the beginning of today's Take Shrine, which was ranked as a prefectural shrine the following year.

The feature to note in the precincts is the treasure house (with a portable shrine), a Hiroshima Prefecture Important Cultural Property. It was built in the early 17th century as the shrine of the Inari shrine in the Sannomaru of Hiroshima Castle, and it is a log-built storehouse with a hip-and-gable roof of cypress bark and a front porch. It is said to be the only surviving building connected with Hiroshima Castle, and was designated by the prefecture in 1954. The present main hall and worship hall were also originally the Inari shrine buildings from the castle, acquired in the early Meiji era; they burned in a fire in 1915 and were rebuilt in 1922. The worship hall has a hip-and-gable roof with a chidori gable on the front. Two auxiliary shrines, Kifune Shrine and Tenjin Shrine, are also in the precincts.

Every year on July 30 the Nagoshi Festival is held, and visitors pray for good health by passing through a ring of reeds (chinowa). The Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku records that in 859 the deity Take was raised to the rank of Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade.

To get there, walk about 20 minutes from Tenjingawa Station on the JR Sanyo Line or Yaga Station on the JR Geibi Line. By car, there is parking for 20 cars near the main hall and 40 below the grounds. The Mazda Museum is in the same town of Fuchu, so the shrine can be combined with a stroll around town.