Travel Note: Harima Province Soja, Itatehyozu Shrine (Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture)

That day, I descended from Mount Shosha and returned to Himeji city by bus. Instead of going all the way to the station, I got off at Otemae-dori and visited Itatehyozu Shrine.

Since I had come to Harima Province, I wanted to visit Iwa Shrine, the Ichinomiya (first shrine), but it was a bit far from Himeji, so I gave up on that. As a substitute, I visited Itatehyozu Shrine, the Soja (provincial shrine) of Harima Province located in Himeji city.

People in the past might have found it time-consuming, expensive, or even troublesome to visit shrines scattered all over the province. Perhaps that is why they created the Soja system, where the gods of the province were enshrined in one place, allowing people to offer their daily prayers there instead.

The enshrined deities of Itatehyozu Shrine are Itate-no-Okami and Hyozu-no-Okami. It is said that Itate-no-Kami is Isotakeru-no-Mikoto and Hyozu-no-Kami is Oonamuchi-no-Mikoto. The fact that their names are different suggests they may have originally been separate deities. This is a topic for future research.

This shrine is listed in the Engishiki Jinmyocho as 'Itatehyozu Shrine, two seats, Shikama District, Harima Province.' In the first year of Yowa (1181) during the reign of Emperor Antoku, 174 shrines, both large and small, from the sixteen districts of Harima Province were enshrined within the grounds, and it came to be called the Soja or Fuchusha.

Currently, the various shrines of Harima Province are located behind the main hall. Directly behind the main hall is the Twelve-Shrine Joint Hall, with the West Harima General Shrine Hall to the left (west) and the East Harima General Shrine Hall to the right (east). All of these shrine buildings resemble row houses.

The Twelve-Shrine Joint Hall enshrines: - Ichinomiya (Aramitama of Hyozu-no-Kami) - Ninomiya (Aramitama of Itate-no-Kami) - Hioka Shrine (Ame-no-Isasahiko-no-Mikoto) - Kado Shrine (Shinatsuhiko-no-Mikoto, Shinatsuhime-no-Mikoto) - Tagu-no-Hoi Shrine (Tagu-no-Hoi-no-Kami) - Hikosahichi Shrine (Hikosahichi-no-Kami) - Akiba Shrine (Kagutsuchi-no-Kami) - Haguro Shrine (Ukanomitama-no-Mikoto) - Doso Shrine (Kunado-no-Kami) - Kuraya Shrine (Ukemochi-no-Kami) - Kakinomoto Shrine (Kakinomoto Hitomaro) - Toshogu (Tokugawa Ieyasu).

The East Harima General Shrine Hall enshrines deities from: Akashi District, Mino District, Taka District, Kamo-Higashi District, Kamo-Nishi District, Kako District, Inami District, and Shinto District. The West Harima General Shrine Hall enshrines deities from: Shinsai District, Shikato District, Shikani District, Itto District, Itani District, Shiso District, Sayo District, and Ako District. Deities from eight districts are enshrined on both the east and west sides.

There are many other shrines within the grounds. It might be quite a task to visit them one by one.

And it continues further.

Annaisha Hachimangu enshrines both the Annaisha, which honors Sarutahiko-no-Okami, and the Hachimangu, which honors Homutawake-no-Mikoto.

The deities enshrined at Osakabe Shrine are Osakabe-no-Okami and Tomihime-no-Kami.
These two deities are also said to be the guardian deities of Himeyama, or Himeji Castle.
When I think of Tomihime of Himeji, I am reminded of Kyoka Izumi's play 'Tenshu Monogatari' (The Castle Tower). Tomihime is a supernatural being who lives in the keep of Himeji Castle. I imagine many people have played the role, but Tamasaburo Bando's performance is exquisite. There is also a film version directed by Tama-san, so I should watch it again soon.

With so many deities present, it feels like a shrine theme park, and it makes one wonder who to pray to and what to ask for.
For the most part, Karasaki Yau usually just pays his respects without making any special requests.