Yata ni Imasu Kushitamahiko Shrine, Shinto shrine in Yamatokōriyama, Japan.
Yata ni Imasu Kushitamahiko Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Yata-chō, Yamatokōriyama, also called Yaochi Shrine or Yaochi Myōjin. Its honden, rebuilt in the early Muromachi period, is a one-bay Kasuga-zukuri structure with a cypress-bark roof, designated an Important Cultural Property along with the Hachiman shrine building. The grounds also hold a rōmon gate, a worship hall and the Ninoya-zuka mound.
The shrine's founding date is unknown, but it appears in the Shinshō Kyakuchokufushō as "Yata no kami" in 806, so it predates that record. It was the leading shrine of the ten in Yamato's Shimonoshimo district listed in the Engishiki, and it flourished as a major shrine of the Kinai region until the early sixth century. In 1879 the shrine's deity was recorded as Ame no Futodama, apparently under pressure from the Meiji government; it was raised from village shrine to prefectural shrine in October 1938.
The shrine is also called Yaochi Shrine or Yaochi Myōjin, after the second arrow Kushitamahiko no Mikoto shot from the sky, which fell here and gave the area the name Yata. Because the deity flew through the air on the Heavenly Rock Boat, he is revered as a patron of aviation, and an aviation festival is held every 20 September. A propeller once used on a fighter aircraft is displayed in the upper part of the tower gate.
The shrine is located in Yamatokōriyama and is accessible by public transportation from the city center. Visitors should be respectful of the spiritual nature of the site and follow customary practices when approaching and moving through the grounds.
The shrine's name comes from a myth in the Sendai Kuji Hongon: the deity Kushitamahiko flew across the sky on the heavenly rock boat Ame no Iwafune, and the second arrow he shot fell here, giving the area the name Yata. A mound in the grounds, Ninoya-zuka, marks that arrow's landing.
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