Dairokuten Jinja (第六天神社)

View of Dairokuten Jinja from National Route 1

Dairokuten Jinja (第六天神社), also referred to as Jukkenzaka Dairokuten Jinja (十間坂第六天神社), situated along National Route 1 in the Jukkenzaka District of Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, is one of several Shinto shrines referred to as Dairokuten (written "第六天" or sometimes "大六天") shrines found in Eastern Japan, primarily along the border of Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture. They are nearly nonexistent in Western Japan.

The founding date of Dairokuten Jinja remains unclear. The name of the shrine first appears in the Shinpen Sagami-no-kuni Fudokiko, a topographical record of Sagami Province (which covers most of present-day Kanagawa Prefecture) completed in 1841. It is believed the shrine was founded during the early Edo period (1603–1868). However, some accounts suggest it may have been founded during the Kamakura period (1185–1333), as the area's name, Jukkenzaka, is mentioned in the Azuma Kagami, a historical chronicle detailing events related to the Kamakura shogunate from 1180 to 1266.

Dairokuten Jinja at night

The kami (deities) enshrined at Dairokuten Jinja trace their origins to Takejizaiten (他化自在天), also known as Dairokuten-mao (第六天魔王), the demon king of the Sixth Heaven in Buddhism. Although regarded as a demon, Dairokuten-mao was venerated as a deity of wish fulfillment, believed to transform worldly pleasures into personal ones. Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582), regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan, was said to be a strong worshipper. The Portuguese Catholic priest and missionary Luís Fróis (1532–1597) recorded that Nobunaga referred to himself as "Dairokuten-mao." After Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) came to power, he reportedly abolished the shrines and Buddhist temples dedicated to Dairokuten-mao in his area, believing that Nobunaga was able to unify and exert control over Japan with the assistance of Dairokuten-mao's power.

Under the shinbutsu bunri (the separation of Shinto and Buddhism) policy introduced by Japan's newly-formed Meiji government, the kami Omodaru-no-Mikoto (淤母陀琉命) and Imoayakashikone-no-Mikoto (妹阿夜訶志古泥命) were enshrined, as they had previously been identified as Dairokuten-mao under the practice of shinbutsu-shugo (the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism).

Temizu-ya (手水舎)

A stone monument engraved "洗心" indicates that the current temizu-ya (water pavilion) was once a bell tower. The original bell was confiscated and melted down for scrap during World War II. Later, it was relocated and repurposed as the shrine's temizu-ya.

Temizu-ya (left) and haiden (right)

Stone Monuments

Several stone monuments stand on the west side of the shrine, including koshin-to, Dosojin, stone Buddha, and Roku Jizo (six statues of Jizo Bosatsu [Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva], each representing one of the six realms of Buddhist cosmology). The faces of the Roku Jizo statues had fallen off and replaced with stones with hand-drawn faces.

Cenotaph (慰霊碑)

A cenotaph (慰霊碑) stands in front of the shrine, erected in June 1977 with contributions from parishioners and visitors. It honors those who sacrificed their lives from the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) through World War II, recognizing their role in shaping the peace Japan enjoys today.

Yasaka Jinja (八坂神社)

Yasaka Jinja

Between the temizu-ya (a water pavilion where visitors cleanse their hands and mouth before approaching the shrine) and the haiden (a hall of a Shinto shrine for worship) of Dairokuten Jinja stands the subordinate shrine of Yasaka Jinja (八坂神社), which enshrines Susanoo-no-Mikoto (須佐之男命).

The Goshinboku "Dairokuten-san no Kuromatsu" (第六天さんの黒松)

Goshinboku "Dairokuten-san no Kuromatsu"

Behind the shrine building of Dairokuten Jinja stands a pine tree known as "Dairokuten-san no Kuromatsu" (第六天さんの黒松), which serves as the goshinboku (a sacred tree at a Shinto shrine believed to be a dwelling place of kami) of the shrine. In the past, this tree was used as a landmark by fishermen at sea. Between 1945 and 1954, lightning struck the tree, causing it to split in the middle.

References:

• Sato, David. (2019, January 23). 洗心（第六天神社）. 東京湾要塞 神奈川、千葉、東京の戦争遺跡. https://tokyowanyosai.com/sub/ibutu/sekihi/kinen-119.html
• 神奈川県神社庁. (n.d.) 茅ヶ崎市 第六天神社. 神奈川県神社庁. https://www.kanagawa-jinja.or.jp/shrine/1206069-000/
• 茅ヶ崎 第六天神社 [dai6tenjinjya]. (2025). 茅ヶ崎 第六天神社. X (formerly Twitter). https://x.com/dai6tenjinjya