Kumano Taisha | |
---|---|
熊野大社 | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Shinto |
Deity | Susanoo-no-Mikoto |
Festival | Sankasai Fire Festival |
Type | Kokuhei Taisha |
Location | |
Location | Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan |
Geographic coordinates | 35°37′33.2″N 133°07′03.2″E / 35.625889°N 133.117556°E |
Architecture | |
Style | Shinto shrine style |
Founder | Empress Saimei (some source says) |
Date established | 7th century |
Glossary of Shinto |
Kumano Taisha (熊野大社, Kumano-taisha) is a Shinto shrine located in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture. The shrine is dedicated to the god Kaburogi-kumano-okami Kushi-mike-no-mikoto (伊邪那伎日真名子加夫呂伎熊野大神櫛御気野命, "Beloved Child of Izanagi, Divine Ancestor [and] Great Deity of Kumano, Kushimikenu-no-Mikoto'), which is identified with Susanoo-no-Mikoto.[1]
The Kumano Taisha is considered one of the most sacred ichinomiyas in the Izumo Province, along with the Izumo Grand Shrine. It is not to be confused with the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex in Wakayama Prefecture.[2][3] It is significant in Japanese culture as the origin of fire in Japan. The shrine is also considered in myth to be where the use of fire originated; two ancient fire-making tools, a hand drill (燧杵 hikiri-kine) and a hearthboard (燧臼 hikiri-usu) are kept in the shrine and used in the shrine's Sankasai Fire Festival (鑚火祭 Kiribi-matsuri or Sanka-sai) held every October.[4]