#246 Suwa Taisha Shimosha Harumiya

Suwa, Nagano

The 800 meters of road that runs directly to the shrine was originally built specifically for access to the Harumiya. Many warriors competed here in contests of Yabusame, ritual competitions of horsemanship. The bridge that crosses the small river in front of the shrine is known as the "Dismounting Bridge" (Geba- bashi) because all visiting warriors and aristocrats had to dismount from their horses here before proceeding to the shrine. It was built in the Muromachi period (1333-1573), but the architecture is in a style of the Kamakura period (1185-1333). The bridge was rebuilt in the 1730s and is the oldest structure at the Shimosha. During the twice yearly festivals in which the god is moved from the Akimiya to the Harumiya or vice versa, the god's palanquin (Mikoshi) is carried over this bridge. The large granite Torii gate at the entrance to the shrine is estimated to have been built in 1656, and it is said it was made by the same person who carved the Manji Stone Buddha located just to the west of the Harumiya. The layout of the shrine's various buildings the Kagura Hall, Ritual Hall, left and right Worship Halls, and two Sanctuaries-is the same as the Akimiya, although the Kagura Hall has been reconstructed many times. In the Edo period (1603- 1868), when plans for rebuilding the Harumiya and Akimiya shrines were devised, it seems that the same blueprints were used for both sites, and, except for the size, the architecture of the two is exactly alike. The carpenters only competed in terms of time: although the rebuilding of the Harumiya, undertaken by the local shrine carpenter Shibamiya (Ito) Chōsaemon, was begun one year later than the Akimiya, it was finished one year sooner in 1780. The Sanctuaries (Gohoden) of both the Kamisha and Shimosha measure 3-ken (about 6 meters, or 18 feet) on each side, and this 3-ken square architecture is called the "deity style" (shinmei-tsukuri). At the Shimosha, in addition to the movement of the god between the left and right Sanctuaries every six years, every six months the deity is moved between the Harumiya and the Akimiya. The sacred tree that grows inside the compound of the Harumiya's Worship Hall is a Japanese cypress tree (Sugi), and at the Akimiya the sacred tree is the Japanese yew (Ichii). To the west of the Kagura Hall is the building. where the Tsutsu-gayu ("Rice Gruel") ritual is held, and the river to the west of this is the Togawa River. The island in the middle of this river is named the Ukishima, and the fact that it is never washed away no matter how strong the flow of the river is one of the Seven Unusual Aspects (nana fushigi) of the Shimosha. The small shrine on the island is called the Ukishimasha, and the Kami is a deity of purification. The Nagoe-no-harai, a major purification ritual, is held here on June 30th.