The view makes the climb worthwhile
Steps leading up to Atago Shrine
The Atago Shrine in Fukuoka isn’t a famous shrine, but it’s well worth the effort of visiting. It’s on the top of Mt Atago, in the west of the city, a small but fairly steep slope. Visitors are rewarded with wonderful views over Hakata Bay. Somewhere in the urban sprawl that extends along the coast can be seen Fukuoka Dome and Tower.
The Atago ox, disturbed in his contemplation of the scene behind him
There are apparently some 900 Atago shrines in Japan, and this is one of the Big Three together with the head shrine in Kyoto as well as one in Tokyo. It’s said to be the oldest shrine in Fukuoka prefecture, supposedly founded in the reign of legendary Emperor Keiko some 2000 years ago. It’s also the most visited shrine in the prefecture at New Year. The shrine literature claims that since Edo times it has been known for its ‘gods of prohibitions such as temperance in alcohol and quit smoking’.
Surprisingly Jizo popped up here in the shrine precincts
The shrine is notable for its crest, which looks like two magatama but is in fact the tusks of the wild boar. It symbolises the power of the animal, as if harnessed by the kami and passed on to its flock. Another striking aspect of the shrine are the guardian komainu, some of which have intriguing expressions. I was surprised to find too a Buddhist Jizo on a table in the precincts, with a notice claiming that it would cure people of illnesses if you rubbed it.
The shrine is evidently doing its best at outreach, as part of which it has prepared an English-language ‘Atago Shrine News’. The summer edition advertised a Hozuki (Chinese lantern) summer festival on July 15th and 16th with the promise that ‘we prepare some entertainment for you’. There was also a list of bad luck years (yakudoshi), with the offer of purification or good luck charms to ward off misfortune.
From April to May there is an ongoing children’s festival, with a Seven Lucky Gods celebration and cards on which children can write what they want to become when adult. There is also a Tanabata ceremony on July 7, when wishes written previously will be dedicated to the shrine’s kami. And on July 1st there’s a special Fukuoka custom in which sand called ‘Oshioi‘ is sold to believers to be placed near their front door to keep away bad luck. (Winter sees a Fire Festival at the shrine, when participants walk barefoot across burning charcoal.)
The worship hall at Atago
One of the unusual komainu
and another...
The shrine's crest – artistic representation of a wild boar's tusks
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