Title Yasumigaoka Hachimangu Shrine

  • Nara
Topic(s):
Shrines/Temples/Churches
Medium/Media of Use:
App, QR code, etc.
Text Length:
≤250 Words
FY Prepared:
2019
Associated Tourism Board:
rotasurodotagengokaisetsuseibisuishinkyogikai
Associated Address:
457 Nishinokyocho, Nara-shi , Nara

休ヶ岡八幡宮

薬師寺の南門から出ると、日本の神聖な守護者であり戦いの守護神である八幡の神を祀る社であり、寺の鎮守の社でもある休ヶ岡八幡宮があります。石積みの壇上に建った本殿と南北の脇殿を擁する現在の社は、1603年に建てられました。

社の名前の「やすみ」は「休むこと」を意味し、伝説によれば元々の社は日本全国の八幡宮の総本宮がある大分県宇佐の八幡の神の休憩所として9世紀に完成しました。807年、八幡は彼が後に祀られた、他の奈良の七大寺である大安寺に行く途中でここに立ち寄ったといいます。別の伝説では、まだよく知られていなかった八幡が神聖な守護者となった東大寺の大仏の開眼供養会に行く途中、ここで休んだといいます。

八幡は神道と仏教両方に登場し、薬師寺への登場は日本の仏教がどのように神として知られる古来の神道の神々への信仰と平和に共存してきたのかという一つの例です。実際、何世紀にもわたって薬師寺のまわりの5つの村の住民は毎年7月に龍王社と呼ばれる薬師寺の東院堂の隣の別の社に集まってきました。米のような穀物を育てている村人たちにとって身近な味方で、水の神としても知られる蛇の神である龍の慈悲を請うために儀式を行います。9月に行われる2つ目の祭りは実りある収穫をもたらした土地の神々に感謝するために休ヶ岡八幡宮の地で行われます。こうした理由から、八幡と仏教の神々の折衷は寺の守護だけでなく村人の守護も確かにするものでした。


Yasumigaoka Hachimangu Shrine


Just outside the south gate of Yakushiji is Yasumigaoka Hachimangu, a shrine dedicated to the deity Hachiman, the divine protector of Japan and guardian deity of warriors. The deities of the shrine are thought to guard and protect the temple. The current shrine, which consists of a main hall and north and south side halls, constructed on a platform composed of stacked stone, was built in 1603.


The “yasumi” in the shrine name means “rest.” According to legend, the original shrine was completed in the ninth century as a resting place for the Hachiman deity of Usa (present-day Oita Prefecture), where the head shrine of all Japan’s Hachiman shrines is located. It is said that in 807 Hachiman stopped here on his way to Daianji, another of Nara’s seven great temples, where his status was subsequently enshrined. Another legend has it that Hachiman, who was hitherto unknown, rested here on his way to attend the “eye-opening” ceremony of Todaiji’s Great Buddha (752), of which Hachiman is the divine protector.


Hachiman is worshiped in both Shinto and Buddhism, and the presence of the shrine dedicated to him next to Yakushiji is one example of how Buddhism in Japan has coexisted peacefully with the worship of native deities known as kami. Indeed, for centuries residents of the five villages that surround Yakushiji have gathered each July at another shrine next to Yakushiji’s Toindo Hall. Here, at the Ryuosha, a ceremony is held to invoke the protection of Ryu, the serpent/dragon kami who is also known as the deity of water and therefore the protector of villagers growing crops such as rice. A second festival in September is held within the grounds of Yasumigaoka Hachimangu to thank the resident deity for delivering a fruitful harvest. Thus, the syncretism of the Shinto deities and Buddhist deities and bodhisattvas at Yakushiji ensures protection not only for the temple but also for the villagers.


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