Itsukushima Jinja (嚴島神社)

Itsukushima Jinja (嚴島神社)

There is a Shinto shrine called Itsukushima Jinja (嚴島神社/厳島神社), a kenmu-sha of Dairokuten Jinja, standing close to Chigasaki Station in Kanagawa Prefecture.  It is unclear when it was founded.  The shrine originally stood in Nishi Ishigami (西石神) (currently the Shinsakae-cho District of Chigasaki) as a Benten shrine.  The shrine moved to the front of the station in 1918*, according to the stone tablet of the statue of the Myoon-Benzaiten (妙音弁財天) next to the shrine.  In 1948, due to the construction for expanding the space in front of the station, the shrine was moved to its current location.  It enshrines the deities of Ichikishimahime-no-mikoto (市杵島姫命), Tagorihime-no-mikoto (田心姫命), and Tagitsuhime-no-mikoto (湍津姫命).

Statue of Myoon-Benzaiten

In 1981, a statue of Myoon-Benzaiten was built in an octagonal pond on the left side of the shrine building.

Ishigami Benten-sha

To the right of the shrine building is the subordinate shrine of Ishigami Benten-sha (石神弁天社).  The shrine originally stood where it is now Chigasaki Station, but was moved out when the construction of the station started during the mid-Meiji period and was relocated frequently.  The Mizusawa Family looked after the shrine from the early days of the Showa period.  In 1985, the old name of the area "Ishigami (石神)" was added to the shrine name and the shrine relocated to its current location to commemorate the 60th reign of Emperor Showa and the reconstruction of Chigasaki Station to an over-track station.

* The website of Kanagawa Jinjacho says Itsukushima Jinja stood in Nishi Ishigami until the early days of the Showa period.