Udo Jingū

Shinto shrine in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan

31°39′01″N 131°28′00″E / 31.65028°N 131.46667°E / 31.65028; 131.46667Websitewww.udojingu.com

Glossary of Shinto

Udo-jingū (鵜戸神宮) is a Shinto shrine in Nichinan, Miyazaki prefecture, Japan, south of Aoshima. It is the mythical birthplace of Emperor Jimmu's father Ugayafukiaezu.^[1] According to shrine legends, it is the place where the sea goddess Toyotamahime, the mother of said Ugayafukiaezu, built a birth-hut from the feathers of a cormorant. Other gods venerated here are Yamasachihiko (alias Hohodemi alias Hoori, Jinmu's grandfather), Amaterasu, Amenooshihomimi, Ninigi-no-Mikoto, and Emperor Jimmu. While the original myth includes a tragic divorce of Ugayafukiaezu's parents, the shrine is popular with young couples hoping for easy childbirth and a happy marriage.

Local characteristics

Udo shrine is in a cave in the side of the cliff, near the Nichinan coast of Miyazaki. The honden, or main shrine, is in a cavern with a view of the ocean.

In the cave is the ochichi iwa, or "breast stone," a dripping stone which is said to have fed the kami Ugayafukiaezu, father of the first emperor of Japan, when his mother returned to the sea. The shrine sells a candy made from the water of this stone, mizuame, a kind of taffy.^[2]

In the slight distance of the cavern is a rocky island with two peaks. Attendees can purchase small clay balls and attempt to toss them between the peaks for good luck.^[2]

Shinto shrines

Shinto architecture

Buildings	chōzu or temizu Haiden Heiden hokora honden / shinden / shōden kagura-den setsumatsusha
Architectonic elements	Chinjusha chigi hidden roof kaerumata: see nakazonae kairō karahafu karamon katōmado katsuogi kitsune (fox) komainu mon nakazonae shinboku shōrō sōrin tamagaki tokyō torii tōrō
Styles	hirairi-zukuri tsumairi-zukuri hachiman-zukuri hiyoshi-zukuri irimoya-zukuri ishi-no-ma-zukuri kasuga-zukuri kibitsu-zukuri misedana-zukuri nagare-zukuri ōtori-zukuri owari-zukuri ryōnagare-zukuri shinmei-zukuri sumiyoshi-zukuri taisha-zukuri
Decorations	Sandō Saisen Tomoe Shimenawa

Others

Implements	An Chōzubachi Chōzuya Hakama Himorogi Jōe Kagura suzu O-miki Ō-nusa Gohei Sanbo Shide Shinsen Suzu Tamagushi Masakaki Washi
Head shrines¹	Fushimi Inari Taisha Inari Ōkami Inari shrine Usa Hachiman-gū Hachiman Hachiman Shrine Ise Grand Shrine Amaterasu Jingūkyō Jingu Taima Shinmei shrines Dazaifu Tenman-gū Tenjin Tenmangū Munakata Taisha daughters of Amaterasu Suwa Taisha Takeminakata Yasakatome Kotoshironushi Hiyoshi Taisha Ōkuninushi Oyamakui no Kami Sannō torii Sannō Ichijitsu Shintō Kumano Nachi Taisha Kumano Kodō Kumano Sanzan Tsushima Shrine Gion cult Yasaka Shrine Gion cult
Tutelary deities	Ujigami Chinjugami Garanshin Dōsojin Jinushigami Yama-no-Kami Oyagami Sorei Ubusunagami Kunitama
Yorishiro and Shintai	Mirrors Shinboku (trees) Chinju no Mori (forests) Iwakura (rocks) Meoto Iwa Kannabi (locations) Katashiro (dolls) Kadomatsu Bunrei and Kanjō (propagation) Ofuda Jingu Taima Omamori Senjafuda Arahitogami Mikoshi Matsuri float Shinko-shiki
Staff	Kannushi Miko
Miscellaneous	A-un Kanjo Nawa Junrei Misaki Miyamairi Shinshi
Classification	Twenty-Two Shrines Gokoku Shrines Beppyo Shrines Shinkai (divine rank) Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines Engishiki Jinmyocho Chinjusha Setsumatsusha Hokora Buddhist elements jingū-ji miyadera Whale mounds Kamidana Mitamaya Sōja shrine
History	Shrine Parishioner Registration Secular Shrine Theory Shrine Consolidation Policy Shrine Shinto
Misc practices for visitors	Ō-mikuji Shuin Ema
Institutions	Jinja Honchō
Rites	Futomani Harae Kagura Misogi Hakushu Two bows, two claps, one bow Jichinsai
¹ (in order of the size of the shrine network they head)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Udo-jingū.

^ Picken, Stuart D. B. (2010-12-28). Historical Dictionary of Shinto. Scarecrow Press. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-8108-7372-8.
^ ^a ^b Dougill, John; Cali, Joseph (2013). Shinto shrines : a guide to the sacred sites of Japan's ancient religion. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. ISBN 9780824837136. – via Project MUSE (subscription required)