Hondo Suwa Shrine

Hondo Suwa Shrine in Amakusa, Kumamoto, stands above the Hondo Strait separating the lower and upper Amakusa islands. The main deities are Takeminakata no Kami and Yasakatome no Kami, with Emperor Ojin as an associated deity. Kojiki (712 CE) records Takeminakata in the kuniyuzuri narrative as the son of Okuninushi who, after a contest of strength with the heavenly deity Takemikazuchi, settled at Suwa in Shinano — the origin of Suwa Taisha in Nagano. Shrine tradition records the transfer of the deity from Suwa Taisha during the Bunji era (1185-1190). It was the tutelary of the Hondo branch of the medieval "Amakusa Goninshu" warrior families, and the grounds were a battlefield in the Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion of 1637. In the Edo period it was administered as bakufu territory under the Karatsu and Shimabara domains. It was registered as a village shrine in the Meiji period. The September reisai with sumo and child processions is the principal annual rite.