Ichinomiya (一宮; also一の宮 or一之宮; first shrine) is aJapanese historical term referring to theShinto shrines with the highest rank in aprovince. Shrines of lower rank were designatedninomiya (二宮; second),sannomiya (三宮; third),shinomiya (四宮; fourth), and so forth.[1]
The term "Ichinomiya" literally means "first shrine" and is popularly regarded as the highest ranking shrine in eachprovince. The second ranking shrine is referred to as the "Ninomiya" and third ranking shrine as "Sannomiya", and so on. However, there is no documentary material stipulating on how the shrines in each province are to be ranked, or even when this ranking system was created. As a general rule, all shrines designated "Ichinomiya" are of ancient origin and are listed in theEngishiki records completed in 927AD.[2][3][4]
However, the shrine selected is not necessarily the largest, or oldest, in that province, and is not necessarily one of the "Myojin Taisha", which are regarded as the most important shrines. Rather, per theRitsuryō legal and administrative system established in theNara period,kokushi were appointed as imperial governors of each province. When thekokushi travelled fromHeian-kyo to his local seat at theprovincial capital, the first shrine he called upon officially in his province was the "ichinomiya".[5][6][7]
As the purpose of this visit was to announce to the localkami of his appointment to office, it was important that this shrine be dedicated to important local deities and to be located close to the provincial capital. Even after the collapse of theRitsuryō system by theKamakura period, theichinomiya continued to enjoy a certain prestige, and often after all vestiges of the provincial capital had fallen into ruins and its exact location lost, the term "Ichinomiya" was often preserved as a place name.[8][9][10]
Tachibana Mitsuyoshi, a noted Shinto scholar in the earlyEdo Period, visitedichinomiya nationwide for 23 years starting 1675, and wrote the record of his travels in a 13 volume account. This began the popularization of pilgrimages by the common populace to these shrines. UnderState Shinto, theichinomiya were not accorded any special status. Many were accorded high ranks under theModern system of ranked Shinto shrines.
While there can be only one "first shrine" in each province, several provinces have various rival candidates for the title. This has arisen for various reasons: relocation of the provincial capital can result in a newichinomiya being appointed. In some cases, the merger of two provinces can result in twoichinomiya for the new province. In other cases, due to the ambiguity in the criteria forichinomiya designation and due to conflicting ancient records, rival claimants have arisen.
