Kotozaki Hachimangu

Kotozaki Hachimangu, located in Kamiube Kida, Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, is a shrine of Atsusa District in the former Nagato Province and the chief tutelary of the Ube region. It stands on the Kotozaki plateau north of central Ube, where the precincts occupy one of the largest sites in the Choshu region and form the core of the parish's annual rounds. The principal deities are Ojin Tenno, Empress Jingu, Tamayori-hime-no-Mikoto, and Chuai Tenno. The shrine belongs to the Hachiman lineage radiating from Usa Jingu in Buzen and the Iwashimizu Hachimangu in Kyoto. Empress Jingu is recorded in the Nihon Shoki Jingu Kogo chapter as the leader of the Korean expedition, and forms the mother-child cult with her son Ojin Tenno. According to tradition, in 859 the procession bearing the divine emblem from Iwashimizu Hachimangu rested at this site, where the sound of a koto was heard, giving rise to the name Kotozaki. The shrine was patronized by the Kotoshi, Ouchi, Mori, and Hagi-Ube domains. It received the kensha rank in the Meiji era. The October annual rite features mikoshi processions.