Masumida Shrine

Masumida Shrine in Ichinomiya, Aichi, is the ichinomiya of former Owari Province, and the city's very name "Ichinomiya" derives from its status. The main deity is Ame no Hoakari no Mikoto, considered identical with Nigihayahi no Mikoto in Sendai Kuji Hongi, and venerated as the ancestral deity of the Owari clan. His son Ame no Kaguyama no Mikoto, ancestor of the Owari kuni no miyatsuko, is enshrined alongside. Kojiki (712 CE) and Nihon Shoki (720 CE) describe Ame no Hoakari as the elder brother of Ninigi no Mikoto. The Owari clan was a powerful ancient lineage whose ritual responsibilities also encompassed Atsuta Jingu in Nagoya, home of the Kusanagi sword. Engishiki Jinmyocho (927 CE) lists the shrine as a Myojin-Taisha of Nakashima District. Through the medieval period it received warrior patronage, especially from Oda Nobunaga, and through the Edo period it was patronized by the Owari Tokugawa. The current main hall was rebuilt in 1957 after wartime fires. The April Toka Festival is the principal rite.