Cultural Properties of the Munakata Region
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The Three Female Deities of Munakata |
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The Munakata faith is a belief system that traces its origins to ancient prayers for safe maritime travel. It centers on three female deities who protect the sea routes linking the Japanese archipelago and the Asian mainland. Since antiquity, sailors and fishermen have prayed to them for safety and bountiful catches. Over time, devotion to the Munakata deities spread throughout Japan, leading to the establishment of other coastal shrines, including Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima and Enoshima Shrine in Kanagawa.
The legend of the three female deities
According to the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) compiled in the early eighth century, the deities of Munakata were born from the sun deity Amaterasu Omikami during an act of divination. In this act, Amaterasu Omikami took the sword of her younger brother Susanoo no Mikoto, the storm deity, and broke it into three pieces. Amaterasu Omikami rinsed the pieces of the sword in a divine well and chewed them. She then breathed out Munakata’s three deities: Tagorihime-no-kami, Tagitsuhime-no-kami, and Ichikishimahime-no-kami. Amaterasu Omikami bid her new children watch over the vital sea routes in the Genkai Sea between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.
Each of the three deities is enshrined at one of the three Munakata Taisha shrines: Tagorihime-no-kami at Okitsu-miya on Okinoshima, Tagitsuhime-no-kami at Nakatsu-miya on Oshima, and Ichikishimahime at Hetsu-miya on the mainland.
Enduring faith and rituals
Rituals honoring these deities have been conducted since ancient times, primarily on Okinoshima, by the ruling Munakata lineage engaged in navigation and exchange with the continent. Through their role in state rituals, they revered the Three Female Deities at the three shrines of Munakata Taisha as protectors of sea routes and seafarers. Even after the clan’s decline in the late sixteenth century, local priests and other community members continued to uphold these traditions. Today, Shinto priests from Munakata Taisha take turns every ten days residing on Okinoshima to conduct rites in the shrine precincts partway up the mountainside.
Ceremonial observances continue to this day at all three shrines. The Autumn Grand Festival, held from the first to third of October remains the most important annual event. During the Miare Festival, which opens the celebrations, portable shrines from Okitsu-miya and Nakatsu-miya are carried across the sea to Hetsu-miya, reuniting the three sister deities. Over one hundred fishing boats from the seven ports of Munakata accompany the procession in a grand flotilla. The festival concludes with the Kannabi Festival at the Takamiya Saijo grounds, where thanks are offered to the deities for the successful completion of the rites. |
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