Suwa Shrine (Nagasaki)
The Suwa Shrine (Japanese镇西 大 社 诹 访 神社, Chinzei Taisha Suwa- jinja, also popularly Osuwasan ) is a Shinto shrine in the Japanese city of Nagasaki. It was built in the last phase of the epoch of Nanban trade in 1625.
History
Plans for the construction of the shrine began in 1614, the same year in which the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu drove the suppression of Christianity in Japan to a peak and banned by an edict of the Christian religion, and referred Christians and foreigners in the country. This policy was directed against the growing influence of the Jesuit missions, which had spread widely in the team with the Portuguese traders of the port and trading city of Nagasaki (about 750,000 believers in 1605 ) and were seen as a threat to the Tokugawa shogunate since converted to Christianity rural population showed a tendency to rise up against the secular authorities. The shogunate sat in the implementation of its anti -Christian policy not only military and police measures, but also encouraged and supported other religions, such as Buddhism and Shinto, which showed significantly more loyal to the Japanese central government.
The first high priest of the shrine was the Shugendo priest Aoki Kensei (青木 贤 清), who had gone through a detailed report to the shogunate over destruction of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines by Christian rebels since 1567 a name. He had also been significantly involved in the construction of the shrine, but was only in 1625, the rank of a Shinto priest ( in the tradition of Yoshida Shinto )
The shrine was rather unsuccessful in the first decade of its existence and could not enjoy large numbers of visitors. This changed around 1633/34, when the first edicts of the shogunate to the seclusion of Japan has been adopted. These provided not only the free entry or exit for Japanese under draconian penalties and limited trade with the ( only Dutch and Chinese ) foreign to the island of Dejima in front of Nagasaki, but also committed the local population of the city, the shrine as members register of the municipality to be.
From the side of the shogunate was the establishment of the Okunchi - matsuri ( see below). This Autumn Festival should impress even the Chinese and Dutch foreigners, which is why since 1638 understood as essential Japanese art of Noh theater at the heart of the festivities was formed, although many Chinese influences were added to the end of the festival. The latter, however, was withdrawn with the exception of the Chinese dragon dance (yes - odori ) from the Meiji Restoration and the propagation of state Shinto again.
Thus, the Shrine thrived through its massive support from the government as the center of religious life in Nagasaki during the Edo period relatively well, apart from some natural disasters, and a fire in 1856.
Only in the post-war period, the shrine broke away from its dependence on the Japanese government. Due to the fact that he had the atomic bombing of Nagasaki survived completely intact (unlike, for example, to Urakami Cathedral in the north), he was able to relatively quickly reintegrate them into the religious life of the city.
Okunchi Matsuri
The Okunchi Matsuri (also O suwa Matsuri or Nagasaki Kunchi ) will take place from 7 to 9 October each year instead. It is one of the three largest and best-known Matsuri in Japan.
The dances of the feast ( Hono - Odori ) are traditionally organized by 11 out of 77 districts ( Odori -chō ), which alternate in a rhythm of seven years there. The dances at the shrine begin on the morning of October 7, the mikoshi of the Suwa Shrine and neighboring shrines are carried through the city, while the dances from further shrines and finally the seat of the governor of Nagasaki Prefecture are repeated. The mikoshi finally left for a day in the o- tabisho in Ohato district.