Shirayama Hime Jinja Shrine 白山比咩神社

Description

Shirayama Hime Jinja Shrine is dedicated to Mt. Hakusan, one of Japan’s three holy mountains, alongside Mt. Fuji and Mt. Tateyama. The shrine’s history dates back to ancient times with the original said to have been built in 91 BCE. In 717, the monk Taicho (682 ? 767) became the first person to reach the 2,702-meter-high summit of Mt. Hakusan, whereupon he built the mountaintop okumiya, or inner shrine, beginning the spread of the Hakusan faith throughout the country. The shrine now called Shirayama Hime Jinja Shrine is the satomiya, or local shrine created for worshipping Mt. Hakusan without climbing its slopes. The main shrine hall standing today was built in 1770 by the Maeda clan, who were the feudal lords of the surrounding Kaga Domain for 14 generations. Today it serves as the head shrine for the more than 2,000 Hakusan and Shirayama Shrines around Japan. The shrine grounds also house a museum where national treasures, such as two wooden Komainu Guardian Dog sculptures and a short sword crafted by the Kamakura period (1185 - 1333) master swordsmith Awataguchi Yoshimitsu, are displayed. The Komainu is an imaginary animal resembling what might be called a mix of lion and dog usually found in pairs that act as talisman protecting against evil. They often protect each side of the entrance to the approach to shrines with one Komainu’s mouth open wide as if saying “ah,” and the other’s firmly shut, as if grunting “hmm.” These first and last characters of the Japanese alphabet also symbolize birth or beginnings and death or endings, respectively. The Shirayama Hime Jinja Shrine Komainu were originally enshrined in the offering hall.