Mishima Taisha(JP039)

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The Mishima Taisha is a Shinto shrine in the city of Mishima in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is the ichinomiya of former Izu Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on August 16, and features yabusame performances.

The date of Mishima Taisha’s foundation is unknown. Per shrine tradition and Nara period records, the predecessor of the shrine was originally located on Miyakejima but was transferred later from place to place, including Shimoda, and Ohito, before being moved to the present site. In the early Heian period Engishiki records, the shrine is referred to as “Izu Mishima Shrine" located in Kamo county, which is in the southern part of Izu Peninsula.

After the establishment of Izu Province in the mid-Heian period, with its capital located near modern Numazu, the shrine was transferred to its present location, and initially was referred to as the “Shingu” (new shrine).

After he was exiled to Izu, Minamoto Yoritomo worshipped at Mishima Taisha for divine assistance in his struggle to overthrow the Heike clan in the Gempei War. After the successful establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate, he rebuilt the shrine on a large scale, and worship of the Mishima Daimyojin became popular with the samurai class. During the Sengoku period the kami of Mishima Taisha came to be associated with victory in battle, and the shrine was patronized by the Odawara Hojo, the Imagawa clan and the Tokugawa clan.

During the Edo period, Mishima Taisha and its associated post town of Mishima-shuku prospered as a popular pilgrimage stop on the Tokaido highway between Edo and Kyoto. Its torii gate was depicted in an ukiyoe by Ando Hiroshige. A calendar issued by the shrine was carried home by pilgrims from all over Japan, and was known as the “Mishima Calendar.”

From 1871 through 1946, the Mishima Taisha was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha, meaning that it stood in the first rank of government supported shrines.