Kumano Taisha

Kumano Taisha
熊野大社
Religion
AffiliationShinto
DeitySusanoo-no-Mikoto
FestivalSankasai Fire Festival
TypeKokuhei Taisha
Location
LocationMatsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan
Kumano Taisha is located in Japan
Kumano Taisha
Shown within Japan
Kumano Taisha is located in Shimane Prefecture
Kumano Taisha
Kumano Taisha (Shimane Prefecture)
Geographic coordinates35°37′33.2″N 133°07′03.2″E / 35.625889°N 133.117556°E / 35.625889; 133.117556
Architecture
StyleShinto shrine style
FounderEmpress Saimei (some source says)
Date established7th 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]

  1. ^ "熊野大社|東北の観光スポットを探す". 東北の観光・旅行情報サイト「旅東北」 (in Japanese).
  2. ^ 原日本の精神風土 (in Japanese). NTT出版. 8 July 2008. p. 74. ISBN 978-4-7571-4189-6.
  3. ^ "熊野大社". しまね観光ナビ|島根県公式観光情報サイト (in Japanese). 7 March 2020.
  4. ^ "熊野大社 (Kumano Taisha)". 山陰観光【神々のふるさと山陰】. Retrieved 2020-03-30.