Yamato Shrine

Yamato Shrine is an ancient shrine in Shinsen-cho, Tenri, Nara. Its central hall enshrines Nihon-no-Ookunitama-no-Okami (Yamato-no-Okunitama), the left hall Yachihoko-no-Okami and the right hall Mitoshi-no-Okami, and the main sanctuary takes the form of three Kasuga-zukuri halls side by side. As a shrine honoring the guardian spirit of the land of Yamato, it is ranked as a Myojin Taisha in the Engishiki register and was counted among the Twenty-Two Shrines in the reign of Emperor Shirakawa.

According to the shrine's tradition, it was founded in the sixth year of Emperor Sujin. Yamato-no-Okunitama, who had been worshipped inside the palace together with Amaterasu, was moved outside the palace and enshrined anew in his reign. The first site is thought to have been near Anashi and Hashinaka in present-day Sakurai, east of the current location, and it is said to have moved later to the present site, though when is not known. Empress Jito is said to have made an offering and sought the deity's guidance when building Fujiwara-kyo, and in 897 the shrine received the rank of Shoichii. In the Nara period, envoys to Tang China are said to have visited before departure to pray for safe travel. In the precincts stands the Kokyo Korai monument inscribed with the Manyo poem by Yamanoue no Okura on the safety of that journey.

The move of the capital to Heian-kyo, the rise of the Fujiwara and a fire in 1118 weakened the shrine, and after a fire in 1583 destroyed its land records, it lost all its estates in the medieval period. It became a Kanpei Taisha in 1871, and the buildings, which had been changed to a temple style in the Edo period, were newly constructed.

An essential part of the shrine today is its tie to the battleship Yamato. A divided spirit of the shrine's deity was enshrined aboard the ship as a shipboard shrine. When Yamato sank in the Battle off Cape Bonoutsu on April 7, 1945, 2,736 men, beginning with Vice Admiral Ito Seiichi, commander of the Second Fleet, were enshrined at the Sorei-sha, an auxiliary shrine. A memorial tower for the battleship Yamato was built in 1969, and in 1972 985 war dead of the light cruiser Yahagi and eight destroyers were also enshrined, so that all 3,721 who died in that battle are honored. The precincts include a battleship Yamato exhibition room and a commemorative monument.

The shrine's festival is the Chanchan Festival on April 1 each year. The procession leaves the shrine, rests at a stone seat at the Kishida market, then walks near the border between Yamabe and Shikijo districts to the resting place (otabisho) near the Nakayama Otsuka tumulus. It was designated an intangible folk cultural property of Nara Prefecture in 2018. Other events include the Omiyumi-hajime archery ritual on January 4 and the chinowa (reed ring) crossing on June 30.

Nearby is Hoshizuka Kofun, a keyhole-shaped tumulus 70 m long. The shrine lets you touch both the history of an ancient shrine honoring the land spirit and the memory of modern war. Combining it with Isonokami Jingu (about 3.2 km) and Omiwa Shrine (about 4.9 km) makes a tour of the old shrines of Yamato.