Shioya Hachiman Shrine
Shioya Hachiman Shrine is a shrine watched over by Tadaoki (Sansai) Hosokawa, the lord of Yatsushiro Castle, who is said to have created the model for the Yatsushiro Myōken Festival, and in which the separated deities of Usa Hachiman Shrine in Oita are enshrined.
The deities have been enshrined since the main building of the shrine was built in its current location on October 25th in Japan’s old lunar calendar in the first year of the Meireki period (1655) during the official period of Okinaga Matsui, lord of Yatsushiro Castle at that time. The annual festival on November 25th, the anniversary of the deities’ enshrinement, still bears the nickname, Shioya-no-matsuri (Shioya Festival), and has been loved and passed down by local people.
During the Yatsushiro Myōken Festival, Shioya Hachiman Shrine becomes the temporary shrine for the Shinkō procession. On November 22nd, the deities are brought in an o-kudari procession to the shrine, and depart for Myōken Shrine in an o-nobori procession from Shioya Hachiman Shrine in the early hours of the morning on November 23rd.
