Goryō Jinja (御霊神社)

An Inari shrine (left) and Goryo Jinja (right)

The Goryo Jinja (御霊神社) is a Shinto shrine in the Nango area in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The exact origins of Goryo Jinja (御霊神社) are unclear, but it is said that on the grounds of the nearby Buddhist temple, Goryozan Saiun-ji (御霊山西運寺), there once stood a Bishamon-do (毘沙門堂), a hall dedicated to Bishamonten (毘沙門天), or Vaiśravaṇa, one of Buddhism's Four Heavenly Kings. Over the centuries, this hall underwent many transformations and eventually became the present-day Goryo Jinja.

According to legend, during the Jisho era (1177–1182), Oba Kageyoshi (大庭景能), the local ruler, enshrined the spirit of Kamakura Gongoro Kagemasa (鎌倉権五郎景政) in the hall

Later, in 1198, while Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199), the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, was returning from a bridge dedication ceremony over the Sagami River, he is said to have encountered the ghost of his younger brother, Minamoto no Yoshitsune (c. 1159–1189). His horse was startled, throwing him from the saddle, which is believed to have caused the injuries that led to his death the following year. To appease Yoshitsune's spirit, the villagers enshrined him alongside Kagemasa in the Bishamon-do.

In 1868, with the government's policy of shinbutsu bunri (the separation of Shinto and Buddhism), the shrine became independent from Saiun-ji.

The current shrine building was reconstructed in 1929. Beside the shrine stands a smaller Inari shrine.

Goryo Jinja (taken on December 18, 2023)