Chiba Shrine (Ã¥ÂÂèÂÂç¥Â社, Chiba-jinja) is a Shinto shrine located in Chà «à Â-ku, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture. Originally a Buddhist temple dedicated to the deity Myà Âken, the patron of the Chiba clan, it was converted into a Shinto shrine dedicated to Ame-no-Minakanushi (a kami in Japanese mythology conflated with Myà Âken) during the Meiji period.
Due to its historical status as one of the principal centers of Myà Âken worship in Chiba Prefecture associated with the Chiba clan, the shrine is also popularly known as Chiba Dai-Myà Âken (Ã¥ÂÂèÂÂ大å¦Âè¦Â, "Great Myà Âken [Shrine] of Chiba"), Myà Âken Hongà « (å¦Âè¦Âæ¬宮, the â³Main Shrine (Hongà «) of Myà Âkenâ³), or simply as Myà Âken- (å¦Âè¦Âæ§Â).
The shrine's main deity is the god Ame-no-Minakanushi under the name 'Hokushin Myà Âken Sonjà Â-à Â' (Ã¥ÂÂè¾°å¦Âè¦Âå°ÂæÂÂçÂÂ, lit. "Venerable Star King Myà Âken of the North Star (Hokushin)").
The shrine's auxiliary deities are:
Chiba Shrine was originally a temple to the Buddhist divinity Myà Âken (Sanskrit: Sudá¹Âá¹£á¹Âi, lit. "Wondrous Vision"), the deification of the Big Dipper and/or the northern pole star.
The cult of Myà Âken is thought to have developed in China during the Tang period, when Taoist Big Dipper and pole star worship was adopted into Buddhism. It was then introduced into Japan somewhere during the 7th century by immigrants (toraijin) from Goguryeo and Baekje. Myà Âken worship flourished in the eastern half of the country (the modern Kantà  and Tà Âhoku regions) - where the toraijin were resettled during the reign of Emperor Tenji (reigned 661âÂÂ672 CE) - and was quite prevalent among many clans based in this area such as the Chiba and the Sà Âma clans. Temples and shrines to Myà Âken were especially numerous in former Chiba territories.
The relationship between Myà Âken and the Chiba clan is traditionally traced back to the clan's ancestor, , the uncle of Taira no Masakado. Legend states that when Yoshifumi and his nephew was about to lose a battle against Yoshifumi's elder brother (father of Taira no Sadamori) at the Someya River (æÂÂè°·å·Â, Someyagawa) in Kà Âzuke Province (modern Gunma Prefecture), they were rescued by Myà Âken, the deity of nearby Sokusai-ji (æ¯ç½寺, modern in Takasaki, Gunma). After reaching safety, Yoshifumi went to this temple to express his gratitude and took one of the seven statues of Myà Âken enshrined there with him. This image was passed down to his descendants, who venerated Myà Âken as their patron deity.
When the Meiji government enforced the separation of Shinto and Buddhism in the late 19th century, many shrines that venerated Buddhist figures or deities of mixed heritage either changed or associated their deities to ones found in classical Japanese mythology as written in texts such as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. Many places of worship dedicated to Myà Âken thus began to identify their deity as Ame-no-Minakanushi, a primordial deity who (like Myà Âken) came to be identified with the pole star and the Big Dipper.
According to tradition, the Buddhist temple Hokutosan Kongà Âju-ji (Ã¥ÂÂæÂÂå±±éÂÂÃ¥ÂÂæÂÂ寺) was founded in the thirteenth day of the ninth month of the year 1000 (Chà Âhà  2) by the monk Kakusan (è¦Âç®Â), a son of Taira no Tadatsune (the paternal grandson of Yoshifumi), who then became its first abbot (大å§æ£ daisà Âjà  or 座主 zasu). The temple was built at the command of Emperor Ichijà  (reigned 986-1011) in thanksgiving for his recovery from an eye disease.
In 1126 (Daiji 1), Tadatsune's great-great-grandson Taira no Tsuneshige transferred his clan's power base from in Kazusa Province (modern à Âji-chà Â, Midori-ku, Chiba City) to a new castle located about a kilometer south of Kongà Âju-ji, situated in a natural plateau known as Mount Inohana (modern Inohana, Chà «à Â-ku). During the transfer, the clan shrine to Myà Âken which enshrined the image supposedly brought by Yoshifumi from Sokusai-ji situated within the castle precincts was merged into the temple complex. Myà Âken Taisai (the "Great Festival of Myà Âken"), the temple's (and later, the shrine's) annual festival, was first held in 1127, the year after the clan - now calling itself 'Chiba' - moved to Inohana Castle, and has continued uninterrupted for nearly nine centuries since. As the Chiba's seat of power, the area surrounding the castle and the temple, Chiba Manor (, Chiba-no-shà Â), began to prosper during this period.
During the Genpei War (1180âÂÂ1185), the Chiba clan, headed by Tsuneshige's son , chose to side with Minamoto no Yoritomo against Taira no Kiyomori. Yoritomo himself is said to have visited the temple on his way to Kamakura in 1180. After Kiyomori's defeat, the clan was rewarded large domains throughout Japan. Myà Âken's cult spread to these areas as a result.
By the Muromachi period, a series of external and internal conflicts had severely weakened the Chiba. In 1455, (son of 14th clan head and brother of 15th head ) overthrew the clan's main branch, then led by his nephew , and assumed leadership, only to be defeated and killed under the orders of shà Âgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. Inohana Castle was abandoned in the aftermath of this conflict, with the Chiba (now under Yasutane's son ) moving this time to another castle located in what is now the city of Sakura. The clan head's coming-of-age ceremony, however, was still held at Kongà Âju-ji, showing the continued esteem with which the temple was held.
In 1591 (Tenshà  19), Kongà Âju-ji received donations of land from Tokugawa Ieyasu, who also conferred to it the special privilege of direct audience with the shà Âgun (normally a prerogative of the shà Âgun<nowiki/>'s direct vassals, the fudai daimyà  and the hatamoto). The temple subsequently became known as 'Myà Âken-ji' (å¦Âè¦Â寺) during the Edo period.
In 1869 (Meiji 2), as a result of the edicts that called for the separation of Buddhism and Shinto, the temple - which featured a combination of both - was turned into a purely Shinto institution and renamed "Chiba Shrine", with its deity Myà Âken reidentified as Ame-no-Minakanushi.
In 1874 (Meiji 7), Chiba Shrine was raised to the rank of prefectural shrine or kensha (çÂÂ社). In the same year, the shrine caught fire and burned to the ground. It was immediately rebuilt, but was again destroyed by fire in 1904 (Meiji 37). Reconstruction of the ruined edifices was finished ten years later, in 1914 (Taishà  4).
The shrine was destroyed a third time during the bombing of Chiba in 6-7 July, 1945 (Shà Âwa 20) in the closing stages of World War II. It was rebuilt after the war and was completed in 1954 (Shà Âwa 29).
In 1990 (Heisei 2), the entire Chiba Shrine complex was renovated on a grand scale. The Sonjà Âden (å°ÂæÂÂ殿), the shrine compound's main gate, was completed in 1998 (Heisei 10).
Chiba Shrine's auxiliary shrines (massha) are as follows:
In addition to the above, historical records also refer to shrines to (渠ç§大権ç¾, the patron goddess of Daigo-ji in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto) and Marëcë (æ©å©æ¯天 Marishiten), as well as a sanctuary dedicated to seven important personages related to the Chiba clan known as 'Sà Âdai-Shichisha Daimyà Âjin' (æ£代ä¸Â社大æÂÂç¥Â) within the temple complex.