Kashii-gu

Kashii-gu (香椎宮) is a Shinto shrine in Kashii, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, a chokusai-sha (imperial-decree shrine), formerly a national shrine of the highest grade, and now a betsu-hyo shrine of the Shrine Association. The principal kami are Emperor Chuai and Empress Jingu, with Emperor Ojin and the Sumiyoshi deities as auxiliary kami. According to the Nihon Shoki (720 CE), Emperor Chuai died at the palace of Kashihi after defying a divine pronouncement during his Kumaso campaign, and Empress Jingu set out for the Korean peninsula while pregnant with the future Emperor Ojin. According to shrine tradition, the shrine was founded in 724 CE under imperial decree of Emperor Shomu as the mausoleum of Emperor Chuai, and was anciently called Kashii-byo. The main hall preserves the distinctive Kashii-zukuri architectural style and is an Important Cultural Property, and the shrine remains one of sixteen imperial-decree shrines receiving offerings at fixed intervals from the imperial household.