邇保姫神社, Shinto shrine in Japan
Nihohime Shrine stands in Nishihonmura-cho, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, on the slope of a hill. Its main deity is Nihotsuhime-no-kami, with Nakatsuhiko, Okinagatarashihime and Homuda Wake enshrined alongside. The present worship hall was rebuilt after a 2007 fire; the stone water basin, registered on Hiroshima's A-bomb building list in 1996, remains from the earlier compound.
According to shrine tradition, Empress Jingu stayed here on her return from the Korean campaign and enshrined Nihotsuhime, a goddess linked to the area's ancient cinnabar deposits. An arrow she shot to ward off evil struck the hill where the shrine now stands and became its sacred body. In 885 the Usa Hachiman shrine was invited here and the site was called Sho-Hachimangu. The 1945 atomic bomb blast tilted the hall without toppling it, and it served as a relief station for survivors. A fire destroyed the main and worship halls in September 2007; the worship hall was rebuilt in 2010.
The name Nihohime derives from Nihotsuhime, a goddess linked to the ancient production of cinnabar (shu) in this area. The shrine was long known as Shō Hachimangū before taking its present name. Visitors can look for the stone water basin, the only structure still listed as an A-bomb building after the 2007 fire.
The shrine stands in Nishi-hon'ura-chō, Minami Ward, reached by narrow residential streets; a bus stop and parking are nearby. The grounds sit on a slope, so expect steps and uneven paths and wear suitable shoes. The 2007 fire destroyed the main hall and worship hall, so some structures are recent rebuilds.
The shrine's former main hall and worship hall, rebuilt in the Kyōhō era (1716–1736), were registered on Hiroshima's A-bomb building list in October 1996; after a fire on 27 September 2007 destroyed them, only the chōzuya water basin remains on that list.
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