Akama Shrine
Akama Shrine (赤間神宮, Akama Jingū) is a Shinto shrine in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is dedicated to Antoku, a Japanese emperor who died at a young age in the Battle of Dan-no-Ura (also, Dannoura), which occurred nearby. This battle was important in the history of Japan because it was in this that the Minamoto clan defeated the Taira clan.
The shrine is situated on the waterfront of the Kanmon Strait, between the centre of Shimonoseki and the tourist restaurants of Karato, Kanmon Wharf. The bright red main gate makes it a very visible sight.
The colours and style of the gate are inspired by Ryūgū-jō, according to the Shimonoseki Tourist Guidebook[1] published by the Shimonoseki City Tourism Department. This source states that Antoku's grandmother, Nii-no-Ama, who drowned with Antoku, wished for their palace to be created underwater as she jumped into the sea. Ryūgū-jō is a mythical underwater palace, belonging to the dragon god of the sea. The Japanese Wikipedia says that in the Tale of Heike, Nii-no-Ama told Antoku, before jumping, that they would go to an underwater palace, without referring to Ryūgū-jō. Then, Antoku's mother (Kenreimon-In, aka Taira no Tokuko) had a dream, in which they were living in Ryūgū-jō.
Inside, in the Hoichi Hall, is a statue of Hoichi the Earless, one of the characters in a traditional ghost story which was made known in the west by Lafcadio Hearn.
The grounds also contain the Nanamori-zuka (seven mounds), which represent the Heike warriors also lost in the Battle of Dan-no-Ura.
References
- Japan National Tourist Organisation (note that the information that Emperor Antoku was three years old when he died is contradicted by other sources, which say that although he was a young child, he was a few years older than that. See the Wikipedia page for Antoku),
- Shimonoseki Tourist Guidebook, a pamphlet published by the Shimonoseki City Tourism Department, March 2007, in Japanese.
External links
- ^ Shimonoseki Tourist Guidebook, a pamphlet published by the Shimonoseki City Tourism Department, March 2007, in Japanese.