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Paper short abstract

During the Meiji period, shrines dedicated to Jingū kōgō became tourist destinations, forming part of an expanding landscape of ancient myths that people could visit. This paper examines shrines in Kyushu and Kansai, demonstrating how mythology was used to enhance the prestige of sacred sites.

Paper long abstract

“This shrine is also a renowned Hachiman Shrine, and many people come to worship here from near and far, drawn by its divine power.”

-- The Guide for Kyushu Railway Passengers (1893) on Umi Hachiman-gū

Jingū kōgō (trad. 169?–269 CE) was a household name during the Meiji period (1868–1912). The government featured her image on banknotes, postage stamps, and government bonds. She was also included in history textbooks and was a subject of ethics education. When Korea was annexed in 1910, her legendary conquest of the Korean Peninsula in the 3rd century CE was used by intellectuals to justify this annexation, and her Korean ancestry was cited as a reason for the 'reunification' of the two countries.

However, it is likely that the majority of Japanese people accepted such arguments less because of the government's skilful indoctrination of the public and more because Jingū kōgō had been a cultural cornerstone for a long time. This included fictional accounts of her story, such as theatre plays and magazine articles, as well as her worship as a deity — both as a symbol of (military) success and as a tutelary deity for pregnancy and childbirth. As such, the narrative of the Korean conquest was a familiar story that could easily be appropriated for other purposes.

Shrines dedicated to Jingū kōgō (and other deities, such as her son Ōjin tennō, commonly identified as Hachiman), often did not only serve as shrines, providing services and celebrating festivals, but also inscribed the mythological narrative of Jingū kōgō onto the physical landscape. This forged a tangible link between the tales of the imperial chronicles and the present day, aided by the often substantial age of the shrines themselves. As such, they became popular destinations for developing leisure tourism and formed part of an expanding landscape of ancient myths that people could physically visit.

This paper examines selected shrines in the northern Kyushu and Kansai regions, illustrating how national mythology was used to increase the prestige of sacred sites. It also explores why Jingū kōgō was such an ideal candidate for this purpose.