Sagae Hachimangu

Sagae Hachimangu, located in Hachiman-cho, Sagae City, Yamagata Prefecture, served as the chief tutelary of the medieval Sagae estate in Dewa Province. The shrine stands on the right bank of the Sagae River, a tributary of the Mogami, near the center of the medieval Sagae-sho held by the Oe clan. The principal deities are the Hachiman three: Hondawake-no-Mikoto (Ojin Tenno), Okinagatarashihime-no-Mikoto (Empress Jingu), and Tamayori-hime-no-Mikoto. It follows the configuration of Usa Jingu in Buzen Province and of Iwashimizu Hachimangu in Yamashiro. According to tradition, the shrine was founded in 1063 by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi during a prayer for victory in the Former Nine Years War, by inviting the deity from Iwashimizu Hachimangu. In 1189 Oe no Hiromoto, the first head of the Mandokoro of the Kamakura shogunate, received the office of jito of the Sagae estate after the Oshu campaign of Yoritomo and developed this shrine as the chief tutelary. It was assigned the kensha rank in the Meiji era. The September Sagae Matsuri features yabusame horseback archery, an intangible folk cultural property of Yamagata Prefecture.