A sō-jinja, Shinto shrine in Hōden, Tatsuno, Japan
Asō-jinja is a Shinto shrine in the Hiroyama area of Tatsuno, Hyogo Prefecture. Its main deity is Empress Jingū, with Emperor Ōjin, Tamayori-hime and Okinaga-hiko-no-mikoto also enshrined. The shrine was moved to its present site in 1189 and rebuilt as Hiroyama Hachimangū in 1574; the worship hall and dance hall date from 1607.
The nagare-zukuri style evolved from the older shinmei-zukuri style with straight roofs, refined by the addition of curved lines. The oldest surviving example dates to the late Heian period, showing this design's long place in Japanese shrine architecture.
The shrine was known as Kōzan Hachimangū during the Edo period and took its present name, Asō Jinja, in the Meiji era, when the old Asō shrine on Mount Tachioka was moved here. Until the early Meiji years it was managed by the Tendai temple Hankyū-ji and had no resident priest. The shrine holds an annual festival with a portable shrine procession that began in 1266.
Visitors typically approach the shrine along a stone path and bow before entering the sacred space. Afterward, it is customary to ring a bell and clap your hands to get the spirit's attention before offering a prayer.
The shrine stands at 492 Hiroyama, Hodacho, Tatsuno, a site it moved to in 1189 under Uchiyama castle lord Shiozu Yoshitsuna. Its earlier location on Tateokayama was kept as a small subsidiary shrine, and the old Aso shrine was gradually neglected before being transferred here in the mid-Meiji period.
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