Sōja shrine

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For other uses, see Soja (disambiguation).
Sōjagū [ja] in Sōja, Okayama, where 304 kami of Bitchu Province are collectively worshipped

Sōja (総社) is a type of Shinto shrine where the kami of a region are grouped together into a single sanctuary. This "region" may refer to a shōen, village or geographic area, but is more generally referred to a whole province. The term is also occasionally called "sōsha". The sōja are usually located near the provincial capital established in the Nara period under then ritsuryō system, and can either be a newly created shrine, or a designation for an existing shrine. The "sōja" can also be the "ichinomiya" of the province, which themselves are of great ritual importance.[1]

Whenever a new kokushi was appointed by the central government to govern a province, it was necessary for him to visit all of the sanctuaries of his province in order to complete the rites necessary for ceremonial inauguration. Grouping the kami into one location near the capital of the province greatly facilitated this duty,[2]

The first mention of "sōja" appeared in the Heian period, in the diary of Taira no Tokinori, dated March 9, 1099 in reference to the province of Inaba. [3]

The name "Sōja" is also found in place names such as the city of Sōja in Okayama Prefecture.

Rokusho shrine (six place) is a very common Soja shrine name[3].: 601 

Provincial Soja Shrines[edit]

Region Province Shrine Location Engishiki Jinmyocho Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines Beppyo?
Kinai Yamashiro unknown
Yamato unknown Takatori, Nara
Kawachi Shikiagatanushi Shrine [ja] Fujiidera, Osaka Shikinai Taisha Son-sha
Izumi Izumi Inoue Shrine [ja] Izumi, Osaka Fuken-sha
Settsu Nanba Shrine [ja; de; fr; simple][a] Fuken-sha
Tōkaidō Iga Province unknown
Ise Inatomi Shrine [ja] Suzuka, Mie Shikinai Shosha Ken-sha
Miyake Shrine [ja] Suzuka, Mie Shikinai Shosha Son-sha
Shima Kokufu Shrine [ja] Shima, Mie Son-sha
Owari Owari Ōkunitama Shrine Inazawa, Aichi Shikinai Shosha Kokuhei Shōsha Yes
Mikawa Mikawa Sōja [ja] Toyokawa, Aichi Ken-sha
Tōtōmi Ōmikunitama Shrine [ja] Iwata, Shizuoka Shikinai Shosha Ken-sha
Suruga Shizuoka Sengen Shrine (Kambe Junja) Shizuoka, Shizuoka Shikinai Shosha Kokuhei Shōsha Yes
Izu Mishima Taisha[b] Mishima, Shizuoka Kanpei Taisha
Kai Kaina Shrine 1st location [ja] Fuefuki, Yamanashi Shikinai Shosha Son-sha
Kaina Shrine 2nd location [ja] Fuefuki, Yamanashi Shikinai Shosha Son-sha
Miyamae-cho Hachimangu [ja] (3rd location) Kōfu, Yamanashi Ken-sha
Sagami Rokusho Shrine [ja] Ōiso, Kanagawa Gō-sha
Musashi Ōkunitama Shrine Fuchū, Tokyo kanpei-shōsha Yes
Awa Rokusho Shrine [ja] Tateyama, Chiba Unknown
Tsuruya Hachiman Shrine [ja] (2nd location) Tateyama, Chiba Ken-sha
Kazusa Togakushi Shrine Ichihara, Chiba Son-sha
Iigaoka Hachimangu [ja] (2nd location) Ichihara, Chiba Ken-sha
Shimōsa Rokusho Shrine [ja] Ichikawa, Chiba Son-sha
Hitachi Hitachi-no-Kuni Sōshagū Ishioka, Ibaraki Ken-sha
Tōsandō Ōmi unknown
Mino Nangū Otabi Shrine Tarui, Gifu Setsumatsusha
Hida Hida Sōja [ja] Takayama, Gifu Ken-sha
Shinano Shinano Omiya Shrine [ja] Ueda, Nagano Ken-sha
Iwa Shrine [ja] (2nd location) Matsumoto, Nagano Son-sha
Kōzuke Sōja Shrine [ja] Maebashi, Gunma Ken-sha
Shimotsuke Ōmiwa Shrine (Shimotsuke) [ja] Tochigi, Tochigi Shikinai Shosha Ken-sha
Mutsu Mutsu Sōsha-no-miya [ja] Tagajō, Miyagi Son-sha
Dewa Rokusho Shrine [ja] Tsuruoka, Yamagata Gō-sha
Hokurikudō Wakasa Sō Shrine [ja] Obama, Fukui Son-sha
Echizen Sōja Daijingū [ja] Echizen, Fukui Ken-sha
Kaga Isobe Shrine [ja] Komatsu, Ishikawa Shikinai Shosha Gō-sha
Noto Sōsha [ja] Nanao, Ishikawa Son-sha
Etchū Keta Shrine[c] Fuken-sha
Echigo Fuchū Hachiman-gū [ja] Jōetsu, Niigata Unknown
Sado Sōsha Shrine [ja] Sado, Niigata Unknown
San'indō Tamba Sō Shrine [ja] Nantan, Kyoto Unknown
Tango Kono Shrine[d] Kokuhei Chūsha
Tajima Keta Shrine [ja] Toyooka, Hyōgo Shikinai Shosha Gō-sha
Inaba unknown
Hōki Kokuchōri Shrine [ja] (Sōja-daimyōjin) Kurayoshi, Tottori Shikigeisha [ja; simple] Ken-sha
Izumo Rokusho Shrine [ja] Matsue, Shimane Ken-sha
Iwami Ikan Shrine [ja] Hamada, Shimane Shikinai Shosha Son-sha
Oki Tamawakasumikoto Shrine [ja] (Sōja-daimyōjin) Okinoshima, Shimane Shikinai Shosha Ken-sha
Araki Shrine Okinoshima, Shimane Son-sha
San'yōdō Harima Itatehyōzu Shrine Himeji, Hyōgo Shikinai Shosha Ken-sha Yes
Mimasaka Mimasaka Sōjagū [ja] Tsuyama, Okayama Ken-sha
Bizen Bizen-no-Kuni Sōjagū [sv; ja; simple] Okayama, Okayama Gō-sha
Bitchū Bitchū-no-kuni Sōjagū [ja] Sōja, Okayama Ken-sha
Bingo Ono Shrine [ja] Fuchū, Hiroshima Unknown
Aki unknown
Take Shrine Fuchū, Hiroshima Myojin Taisha Ken-sha
Suō Saba Shrine [ja] Hōfu, Yamaguchi Ken-sha
Nagato Sōsha-gū (subshrine of Iminomiya Shrine) Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Setsumatsusha
Wakamiya Shrine [ja] Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Unknown
Nankaidō Kii Fumori Shrine [ja] Wakayama, Wakayama Son-sha
Awaji Jūichimyōjin Shrine [ja] Minamiawaji, Hyōgo Son-sha
Awa Hachiman Sōsha Ryo Shrine [ja] Tokushima, Tokushima Son-sha
Omiwa Shrine [ja] Tokushima, Tokushima Shikinai Shosha Ken-sha
Sanuki Sōja Shrine [ja] Sakaide, Kagawa Gō-sha
Iyo Ikanashi Shrine [ja] Imabari, Ehime Shikinai Shosha Son-sha
Tosa Tosa Kokubun-ji Nankoku, Kōchi Gō-sha
Saikaidō Chikuzen unknown
Chikugo Kōra taisha Kurume, Fukuoka Kokuhei Taisha
Buzen Sōsha Hachiman-gū [ja] Miyako, Fukuoka Gō-sha
Bungo unknown
Hizen unknown
Higo Kitaoka Shrine [sv; ja; simple] Kumamoto, Kumamoto Fuken-sha
Hyūga Tsuma Shrine [fr; ja; simple] Saito, Miyazaki Shikinai Shosha Ken-sha
Ōsumi Haraido Shrine [ja] Kirishima, Kagoshima Son-sha
Satsuma Shukō Shrine [ja] subshrine of Nitta Shrine Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Setsumatsusha
Iki Kō Shrine [ja] Iki, Nagasaki Son-sha
Tsushima unknown
Hokkaido Hakodate Hachimangū Kokuhei Chūsha

Regional Soja Shrines[edit]

Regional Soja Shrines are Soja shrines dedicated to a specific region rather than a whole province. These include

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Theorized identification. No confirmation
  2. ^ Theorized identification. No confirmation
  3. ^ Theorized identification. No confirmation
  4. ^ Theorized identification. No confirmation

References[edit]

  1. ^ Herbert, Jean (2011). Shinto:At the Fountain-head of Japan. Routledge. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-415-59348-9.
  2. ^ Bocking, Brian (2016). A Popular Dictionary of Shinto. Routledge. ISBN 978-1138979079.
  3. ^ a b Hardacre, Helen (2016). Shinto: A History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190621711.
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