Kirishima-mine Shrine

Kirishima-mine Shrine, located in Hosono, Kobayashi City, Miyazaki Prefecture, is one of the historic Kirishima Rokusha Gongen, the six shrines centered on the Kirishima range. It stands at about 240 m elevation on the Hinamori plateau at the foot of Mt. Hinamori. The original shrine is said to have been near the summit of Mt. Takachiho-no-Mine and was later relocated to the foothills. The principal deities are Ninigi-no-Mikoto, Konohanasakuya-hime, Hikohohodemi-no-Mikoto, Toyotama-hime, Ugayafukiaezu-no-Mikoto, and Tamayori-hime, the three Hyuga generations recorded from the descent of the grandson onward in the upper book of the Kojiki. According to tradition, the shrine was founded in the reign of Sujin Tenno, and the Tendai monk Shoku Shonin organized the Kirishima Rokusha Gongen between 947 and 957, designating this shrine as the central one. After damage from the 1234 Kirishima eruption, it was relocated to the present site in 1729. It received the kensha rank in the Meiji era. The annual festival in November centers on the Kirishima mountain rites.