Ana-hachiman in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, which is said to be founded in 1062, was worshipped by the successive Tokugawa shogun families throughout the Edo Period ( the 17th to 19th century). To be more precise, since Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun, all the shoguns after him paid a visit to the shrine for the stability of the nation as well as their families. Tokugawa Yoshimune, the 8th shogun, dedicated Yabusame, Japanese samurai performance of shooting arrow on horseback, to the shrine for the recovery of his son’s disease. This led the following shoguns to the repeated dedication of Yabusame on their unhappy occasions. In line with these shogun’s religious habits, the commoners in Edo, present time Tokyo，gradually started to believe the shrine to be beneficial for the relief of the convulsions of their infants. In 1879, when Japan’s modernization started after the long time of samurai government, the Emperor Meiji offered a prayer here to ease the convulsion of his heir, the future Emperor Taisho. Most old buildings of the shrine were destroyed in the fierce air raids during the Second World War though, the reconstruction works have been continuously running since 1961.
The first photo shows Hai-den main building and the second one is Zuishin-mon main gate.
Comments