Michinobe Hachimangu

Michinobe Hachimangu in Kamagaya, Chiba, stands on the central Shimousa plateau and serves as the general tutelary shrine of Kamagaya City. The main deity is Homutawake no Mikoto (Emperor Ojin), descending from Usa Jingu in Oita as part of the nationwide Hachiman cult. Local tradition records that Taira no Masakado (?-940), stopping in the area on his way to the Shimousa provincial capital, transferred the Hachiman deity from Usa here in 935 to pray for victory in his campaign. Kojiki (712 CE) records Emperor Ojin in the Empress Jingu narrative. The shrine's associations with Masakado are reflected in later ritual practices honoring his memory. Through the medieval period it received local warrior patronage, and in the Edo period it served as a tutelary of the Kogane shogunal pasture lands. It was registered as a village shrine and then a district shrine in the Meiji period. The October reisai with mikoshi and float procession is the principal rite.