Watazumi Shrine, also known as Watatsumi Shrine is a shinto shrine in Tsushima, Nagasaki. [1]
It is a major tourist destination for tourists from South Korea. [2] [3] [4] [5]
It has a famous row of five torii in a row with two in the ocean similar to Itsukushima Shrine. [1]
In January 2020 they banned foreigners due to behavioral issues by South Korean guests. [2] [3] [4] [5]
In 2020 it was damaged by a typhoon and Ghost of Tsushima fans helped raise money to repair it. [6] [7] [8] [9]
In January 2020 they banned foreigners due to behavioral issues by South Korean guests. [2] The ban was due to vandalism, thefts, and a threat against the head priest. [2]
Complaints included picnics at the shrine, a YouTuber filming there without permission, tour guides disrespecting sacred areas, and Korean graffiti. Some amulets were stolen. A Korean tour guide threatened the priest's life. [2]
This ban substantially reduced the amount of Korean tourists who visited Tsushima. [2]
A typhoon damaged the Torii gate at Watatsumi Shrine in Tsushima, Japan. This happened in September 2020. [7] [10] A crowdfunding campaign started on November 27, 2020 on the Japanese website Camp-Fire [7] . It aimed to repair the gate. [10] [8] [7]
The campaign reached its initial goal quickly. This goal was 5 million yen. It was reached by December 1, 2020. The campaign ended on January 10, 2021. It raised 27,103,882 yen. This is about $260,435. Many donors were fans of the "Ghost of Tsushima" game. [10]
The restoration was planned to start in April 2021,, and to finish by August 2021. There were plans for a stone monument. It would list the names of those who donated at least 10,000 yen. Concerns were raised over coronavirus affecting the construction. [10] [8]
In the game "Ghost of Tsushima," there is a similar shrine. It is the Scarlet Rock Shrine. The real shrine is dedicated to two deities, Hikohohodemi no Mikoto and Toyotamabime. The game's shrine is dedicated to Tsukuyomi. [6]
Nagasaki, officially known as Nagasaki City, is the capital and the largest city of the Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
A torii is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred and a spot where kami are welcomed and thought to travel through.
Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, 1894–1895 and 1937–1945 respectively, and the First Indochina War of 1946–1954, including war criminals. The shrine's purpose has been Worshiping the Japanese emperor as a god and expanded over the years to include those who died in the wars involving Japan spanning from the entire Meiji and Taishō periods, and the earlier part of the Shōwa period.
Meiji Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto.
Itsukushima Shrine is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima, best known for its "floating" torii gate. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, accessible from the mainland by ferry at Miyajimaguchi Station. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
The Azumi were a warrior clan and tribe during the Jōmon period in Japan, whose cultures and beliefs are considered to be one of Japan's earliest sea religions. Their existence dates back to the early 3rd – 7th centuries, when their extensive knowledge of navigation between waters made them the naval force of Yamato Japan in Kyushu. They lived in Northern Kyushu, especially in an area called Chikuzen, now part of modern-day Fukuoka Prefecture. Their knowledge and ability to use tidal changes, weather patterns and star constellations ensured their successful routing and voyaging on the sea during their regular exploration. In essence, the working of Azumi life was centred around their sea God, Watatsumi and their omnipotent deity ‘Isora’, who provided the Azumi people with a strong sense of spiritual guidance throughout their day-to-day life.
Tsushima Island is an island of the Japanese archipelago situated in-between the Tsushima Strait and Korea Strait, approximately halfway between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. The main island of Tsushima, once a single island, was divided into two in 1671 by the Ōfunakoshiseto canal and into three in 1900 by the Manzekiseto canal. These canals were driven through isthmuses in the center of the island, forming "North Tsushima Island" (Kamino-shima) and "South Tsushima Island" (Shimono-shima). Tsushima also incorporates over 100 smaller islands, many tiny. The name Tsushima generally refers to all the islands of the Tsushima archipelago collectively. Administratively, Tsushima Island is in Nagasaki Prefecture.
Iki Island, or the Iki Archipelago, is an archipelago in the Tsushima Strait, which is administered as the city of Iki in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The islands have a total area of 138.46 square kilometres (53.46 sq mi) with a total population of 28,008. Only four (4) of the twenty-three (23) named islands are permanently inhabited. Together with the neighboring islands of Tsushima, they are collectively within the borders of the Iki–Tsushima Quasi-National Park.
Shimenawa are lengths of laid rice straw or hemp rope used for ritual purification in the Shinto religion.
Watatsumi, also pronounced Wadatsumi, is a legendary kami, Japanese dragon and tutelary water deity in Japanese mythology. Ōwatatsumi no kami is believed to be another name for the sea deity Ryūjin and also for the Watatsumi Sanjin, which rule the upper, middle and lower seas respectively and were created when Izanagi was washing himself of the dragons blood when he returned from Yomi, "the underworld".
Typhoon Soudelor, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Egay, was a powerful typhoon that underwent rapid deepening east of Taiwan in the 2003 Pacific typhoon season. It was the sixth named storm by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) of the season, as well as the third typhoon. It formed on June 12 from a disturbance in the monsoon trough, located east of the Philippines. The system moved generally to the northwest after its genesis, gradually intensifying into a tropical storm. While offshore the Philippines, Soudelor dropped heavy rainfall that caused flooding and left thousands homeless. The storm caused $2.46 million in damage, and 12 deaths.
Hakozaki Shrine is a Shintō shrine in Fukuoka.
In architecture, a hongsalmun is a gate for entering a sacred place in Korea. Hongsalmun, also called hongjeonmun or hongmun, are usually erected to indicate Korean Confucian sites, such as shrines, tombs, and academies such as hyanggyo and seowon. The gate indicates entry to a sacred realm.
Tamayori-hime is a goddess in Japanese mythology. Her name is spelled as 玉依毘売命 in the Kojiki and 玉依姫 in the Nihon Shoki.
Konpira Gongen (金毘羅権現) is a Japanese god of the Shugendō sect originating in the mountain Kotohira of Kagawa Prefecture. He is the god of merchant sailors. He is worshipped at Kotohira Shrines
Ghost of Tsushima is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The player controls Jin Sakai, a samurai on a quest to protect Tsushima Island during the first Mongol invasion of Japan. Jin must choose between following the warrior code to fight honorably, or using practical but dishonorable methods of repelling the Mongols with minimal casualties. The game features a large open world which can be explored either on foot or on horseback. When facing enemies, the player can choose to engage in a direct confrontation using Jin's katana or to become a legendary warrior known as "the Ghost" by using stealth tactics to assassinate opponents. A multiplayer mode titled Ghost of Tsushima: Legends was released in October 2020 and made available separately in September 2021.
Typhoon Jebi, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Maymay, was the costliest typhoon in Japan's history in terms of insured losses. Jebi formed from a tropical disturbance south-southwest of Wake Island on August 26 and became the twenty-first named storm of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season on August 27. Amid favorable environmental conditions, Jebi quickly strengthened into a typhoon on August 29 as it headed west and rapidly intensified as it passed the Northern Mariana Islands on August 30. Jebi reached its peak intensity as a Category 5-equivalent typhoon on August 31, with 10-minute sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph), 1-minute sustained winds of 285 km/h (180 mph), and a minimum pressure of 915 hPa. Afterwards, Jebi began a slow weakening trend as it turned northwest, briefly passing through the Philippine Area of Responsibility on September 2. Jebi accelerated north-northeast towards Japan on September 3 as it interacted with the westerlies, and made landfalls over Shikoku and near Kobe early on September 4. Jebi quickly weakened over land and became an extratropical cyclone later that day over the Sea of Japan. Its remnants moved over the Russian Far East before dissipating on September 9.
Watatsumi Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Tarumi-ku, Kobe. It is said to have been founded by the legendary Empress Jingu. It is one of the three major shrines of Harima Province. It has a festival on October 11.
Shikaumi Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan. It is located on Shikanoshima island.
Kaijin Shrine (海神神社) also read as Watatsumi Shrine is a significant Shinto shrine located in Tsushima Island, Nagasaki that holds a Beppyo status. This status denotes that the shrine is remarkable and holds a significant historical importance. Kaijin Shrine is also ranked as an Ichinomiya, which means it is the highest-ranked shrine in its province. It is located near Mount Izu.