TheMishima Taisha (三嶋大社) is aShinto shrine located in the city ofMishima inShizuoka Prefecture,Japan. It is theichinomiya of formerIzu Province^[1] as well as itsSōja shrine. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on August 16, and featuresyabusame performances.^[2]

Mishima Taisha 三嶋大社
Honden of Mishima Taisha
Religion
Affiliation	Shinto
Deity	Mishima Daimyōjin
Festival	August 16
Location
Location	1-5 Omiya-chō 2-chōme, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-0035
Shown within Shizuoka Prefecture Show map of Shizuoka Prefecture Mishima Taisha (Japan) Show map of Japan
Geographic coordinates	35°07′19″N138°55′08″E / 35.12194°N 138.91889°E /35.12194; 138.91889
National Treasure of Japan
Website
www.mishimataisha.or.jp
Glossary of Shinto Important Cultural Property Natural Monument

• Mishima Daimyōjin (三嶋大明神), an amalgamation ofŌyamatsu-no-mikoto (大山祇命) and his consortTsumihayae Kotoshironushi no kami (積羽八重事代主神)

The date of Mishima Taisha's foundation is unknown. Per shrine tradition andNara period records, the predecessor of the shrine may have originally located onMiyakejima but was transferred later from place to place. It first appeared in national chronicles in theNihon Kōki in an entry date 832, with the location given as being inKamo county, which is in the southern part ofIzu Peninsula, near modernShimoda. Subsequent mentions in theNihon Montoku Tennō Jitsuroku (850, 852, 854), theNihon Sandai Jitsuroku (859, 864) and theRuijū Kokushi (868) mention the shrine, but not its location. By the time of theEngishiki in 927 AD, the shrine's location is listed as being inTagata county, or its present location.

Mishima Taisha was greatly revered byMinamoto no Yoritomo after he was exiled to Izu, and he made prayers at the shrine at the start of his struggle to overthrow theHeike clan in theGenpei War. After the successful establishment of theKamakura shogunate, he rebuilt the shrine on a large scale, and worship of the Mishima Daimyōjin became popular with thesamurai class. The shrine continued to be supported by Yoritomo's successors, especially the fourthShogunKujō Yoritsune. During theSengoku period thekami of Mishima Taisha came to be associated with victory in battle, and the shrine was patronized by theOdawara Hōjō, theImagawa clan and theTokugawa clan.

It may have been used as theIzu ProvinceSōja shrine

During theEdo period, Mishima Taisha and its associatedpost town ofMishima-shuku prospered as a popular pilgrimage stop on theTōkaidō highway betweenEdo andKyoto. Itstorii gate was depicted in anukiyo-e print byHiroshige. A calendar issued by the shrine was carried home by pilgrims from all over Japan, and was known as the "Mishima Calendar".

During theMeiji period era ofState Shinto, the shrine was designated as an Imperial shrine, 1st rank (官幣大社,Kokuhei Taisha) under theModern system of ranked Shinto Shrines in 1871, meaning that it stood inthe first rank of government supported shrines.^[3] However, its name was not changed from "Mishima Jinja" to "Mishima Taisha" until after World War II.

• Makiie Box with plum decorations and contents (梅蒔絵手箱 一具,Ume makietebako ichi gu),Heian period. The most important object in the Mishima Shrine collection is aJapanese lacquerware wooden box withmaki-e decoration. The box measures 25.8 x 34.5 x 19.7 cm, and contains numerous utensils and articles used for women's cosmetics in the late Heian period. It is the oldest existing hand box that has its original contents. It was donated to the shrine byHōjō Masako. It is listed as one of theNational Treasures of Japan from 1900.^[4][5]

• Honden, a three-baynagare-zukuri style building, has been reconstructed numerous times over the history of the shrine. The current building dates from 1867, having been rebuilt after the shrine was flattened in theAnsei Tōkai earthquake of 1854. It is registered as a NationalImportant Cultural Property.^[6]

• Tachi (Japanese sword), Kamakura period, donated to the shrine byEmperor Meiji.^[7]
• Wakizashi short sword,Nanboku-cho period, dated 1364, from a forge in Sagami^[8]
• Heart Sutra (紙本墨書般若心経 源頼家筆), dated 1203, written byMinamoto no Yoriie^[9]
• Yatabe Family Documents (矢田部家文書), a collection of 592 documents of shrine records from the Kamakura through Edo periods.^[10]

• Osmanthus fragrans tree, estimated to be 1200-years-old in the shrine precincts is protected by the national government as aNatural Monument..^[11]

•  
  Honden
•  
  Maidono
•  
  Jinmon
•  
  Haiden
•  
  Osmanthus fragrans tree
•  
  Geinōden
•  
  Main Gate

• List of National Treasures of Japan (crafts-others)
• List of Shinto shrines
• Ichinomiya
•   Geographic data related toMishima Taisha atOpenStreetMap

  Media related toMishima-taisha at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website

• Earle, Joe. (2005).Splendors of Imperial Japan. The Khalili Collections.ISBN 1-874780-19-6
• Maas, Jeffrey P. (1999).Yoritomo and the Founding of the First Bakufu: The Origins of Dual Government in Japan. Stanford:Stanford University Press.ISBN 0-8047-3591-3
• Plutschow, Herbe. (1996).Matsuri: The Festivals of Japan. London:RoutledgeCurzon.ISBN 1-873410-63-8
• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959).The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society.OCLC 194887