Fujisaki Hachimangu

Fujisaki Hachimangu in Chuo Ward, Kumamoto, was founded in 935 CE under the imperial vow of Emperor Suzaku, when the deity of Iwashimizu Hachimangu in Kyoto was transferred to the Chausu-yama site of the Higo provincial capital. The shrine adopts the unusual character "旛" rather than the standard "幡" for "Hachiman," a historical convention preserved from medieval documents. The main deities are Emperor Ojin, Sumiyoshi no Okami and Empress Jingu. Kojiki (712 CE) records Emperor Ojin in the Empress Jingu narrative. Through the medieval period the shrine received the patronage of the Kikuchi, Otomo and Kato clans, and in 1632 was relocated to its current site north of Kumamoto Castle by Hosokawa Tadatoshi. It was registered as a national shrine of minor rank in 1871. The main hall was lost in the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion and rebuilt thereafter. The September 14-15 reisai with its zuihyo (retinue) procession reenacts the early-modern lord's pilgrimage and is a defining Kumamoto festival.