In 1868, Shinto style ceremony started at Jōchibyō which was the grave of
Katō Kiyomasa in
Honmyōji, proposed by Nagaoka Moriyoshi.
In 1871, Nishikiyama Shrine was built within
Kumamoto Castle at the separation of
Buddhism and
Shintoism. Enshrined are Katō Kiyomasa, Ōki Kaneyoshi and Kin.
In 1874, the Nishikiyama Shrine was moved to Kyōmachi because the
Kumamoto Castle belonged to the Japanese Army in 1873.
In 1875, the rank of the shrine was made the prefectural shrine. This system discontinued in 1946.
In 1877, the Nishikiyama Shrine was burned in the battle of
Satsuma Rebellion.
Shintai was moved to Kengun Shrine.
In 1884, reconstruction was started.
In 1886, the shrine was reconstructed.
In 1909, the name of Nishikiyama Shrine was changed to Katō Shrine.
In 1962, Katō Shrine was moved to the present site in
Kumamoto Castle.
In 1981, the Sūkeikai, an association of Katō Shrine goers, was started.
Festivals
Spring festival: April 24
Summer festival: July 24
Katō Kiyomasa festival: the 4th Sunday of July
Monthly ceremonies: 1st, 15th and 24th of every month
Ōki and Kin
Ōki Kaneyoshi (1552–1611) was a
karō of Sassa Narimasa. After the fall of Sassa, he became a karō of Katō Kiyomasa. During the
Japanese invasion of Korea, his services, or merits were great. At the
Sekigahara battle, he made the wife of Katō Kiyomasa escape from the Osaka house.
Kin Kan was a Korean who was captured in the Japanese invasion of Korea. His real name was 良甫鑑, and Kin Kan was the name of his position. He became a fan of Katō Kiyomasa and followed his master and became a page.
Features and Memorials
Katō Shrine is located best to view the three high buildings of
Kumamoto Castle.
Memorials
Taiko bridge, placed within the campus of the shrine, was brought from Korea as a memorial, and served as the model of stone bridges.
A large washbasin belonged to Ooki Kaneyoshi who is enshrined.
A flag-holding stone was brought from Nagoya,
Saga Prefecture, in connection with the invasion of Korea.
Small shrines
Enshrined are Sarutahiko-kami, Sugawara Michizane, Ookuninushi-kami and Ebisu-kami.
References
Pamphlet of Katō Shrine obtained on Nov. 18, 2010.
Kumamoto Castle and Castle Town Kumamoto seen in old photographs, Tomita Kouichi, Higo-Joudaibunka-Kenkyuukai, 1999.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Katō-jinja.