Kogu Shrine 皇宮神社

Official explanation

Kogu Shrine is administered by the nearby Miyazaki Shrine and is, like its larger neighbor, closely associated with Jimmu, the mythical first emperor of Japan. The hill the shrine stands on has been an important location in what is now the city of Miyazaki for centuries. It was the location of the estate of the daimyo lords of the local Nobeoka domain during the Edo period (1603–1867), because it was considered to be relatively safe from flooding, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. It is not known when the first shrine was built here, but by the end of the Edo period, with the revival of emperor worship and as interest in the ancient myths of Japan increased, the hill was declared to be the site of Jimmu’s palace. It was from this palace that Jimmu departed to establish a government in what is now Nara Prefecture and to be declared as emperor.

After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the new government of Emperor Meiji (1852–1912) encouraged the worship and maintenance of sites associated with native mythology and the origin legends of the imperial line. Kogu Shrine, which enshrines Jimmu, his wife Princess Ahiratsu, and two of their sons, was expanded in 1934, and in 1940, at the height of the wartime emperor veneration, a giant stone monument was erected near the approach to mark the site from which Emperor Jimmu’s forces set out. The shrine itself was rebuilt on its present site in 1976.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.