Nitta Shrine is located in Miyauchi-cho, Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima Prefecture. It has been revered for centuries as the Ichinomiya, or highest-ranking shrine, of the former Satsuma Province. Its former official shrine rank was Kokuhei Chūsha, and today it is listed among the special shrines under the Association of Shinto Shrines.
The shrine stands on the summit of Mount Shinkame, a place deeply connected with Japanese mythology and the ancient history of the region. Behind the main shrine buildings is a burial mound identified as the mausoleum of Ninigi-no-Mikoto, a deity in Japanese mythology.
Because Nitta Shrine once enshrined the Hachiman deity as one of the Five Separate Shrines of Hachiman, it has been known by several other names, including Nitta Hachimangu, Hachiman Nittagu, Sendai Hachimangu, Ichinomiya Hachiman, and Nitta Myojin.
In 1874, during the Meiji period, the Imperial Household Ministry officially identified the burial mound behind the shrine as the mausoleum of Amatsuhikohikohono-Ninigi-no-Mikoto. It is known as Kawai no Misasagi.
The principal deities worshipped at Nitta Shrine are:
Until the Edo period, the shrine instead enshrined the three Hachiman deities: Emperor Ojin, Empress Jingu, and Takenouchi no Sukune.
According to the shrine’s traditional accounts, Ninigi-no-Mikoto came from Kaseda, in what is now Minamisatsuma City, to the Sendai area. There, he built a grand residence known as Sennōtena, or “Sen-no-Utena.” The name Sendai is traditionally said to have originated from this name.
After Ninigi-no-Mikoto died, a tomb was constructed at the site now known as Kawai no Misasagi. Nitta Shrine is believed to have originated as the place where his spirit was worshipped.
Another tradition explains the name “Nitta” through Ninigi-no-Mikoto’s agricultural achievements. It is said that he brought water from the Sendai River to create new rice fields, and the shrine’s name is associated with these newly cultivated fields.
The oldest known historical document referring to Nitta Shrine is the Jike Mandokoro Kudashi-bumi, preserved in the Nitta Shrine documents dated 1165. It contains the statement that the shrine had been rebuilt more than 300 years earlier. This indicates that it was restored in 865, during the reign of Emperor Seiwa.
Other historical sources give different dates for its establishment. The Sangoku Jinja Denki, written in 1808, states that the shrine was founded in 725, during the reign of Emperor Shomu. The Sangoku Meishozue, compiled in 1843, records that Nitta Shrine was established in Satsuma in 882, during the reign of Emperor Yozei.
These differing accounts show that the shrine’s origins reach far back into Japanese history, although its exact founding date is not definitively established.
During the disturbances known as the Jōhei-Tengyō Rebellion, associated with Taira no Masakado and Fujiwara no Sumitomo, prayers were offered for the protection of the state. Hachiman deities were then enshrined at five locations in Kyushu through the transfer of divine spirits from Iwashimizu Hachimangu in Kyoto. Nitta Shrine was one of these Five Separate Shrines of Hachiman.
This tradition is documented in historical records, including the Nittagu Shoshi Kannin-tō Gebun of 1247 and the Higo Fujisaki Hachimangu Shashi Kannin-tō Gebun of 1357.
The transfer of the Hachiman deity is said to have taken place during the Jōhei era (931–938). This indicates that a shrine already existed in the area by the early Heian period.
According to the 1875 historical work Jindai Sanryō Ikō, Nitta Shrine was originally located in Miyasato Village, in the Kumanoki area, approximately 800 meters east of its present site, across the Sendai River.
This location is traditionally regarded as the place where Ninigi-no-Mikoto first established his residence. The shrine is said to have moved several times, including to Miyahachiman, Miyagahara, the site of the local governor’s residence, and Yakatagahara, before finally being transferred to Mount Shinkame.
Another theory suggests that two separate shrines once existed. One was Nittagu on Mount Shinkame, dedicated primarily to Ninigi-no-Mikoto. The other was a Hachiman shrine in Miyasato Village, dedicated primarily to Emperor Ojin and established through the efforts of the Kii clan, priests associated with Iwashimizu Hachimangu.
According to this interpretation, the Satsuma provincial government combined the two shrines so that Nittagu would become the principal shrine. The merged institution came to be known as Hachiman Nittagu.
Under this theory, the Hachiman shrine stood in Miyasato, while Nittagu was a separate shrine on Mount Shinkame. The exact historical circumstances remain uncertain, and the different accounts reflect the complexity of the shrine’s early history.
Wakamiya Hachiman, which stood in Miyasato Village, is traditionally associated with the place where Ninigi-no-Mikoto once resided. It was later merged with Shinao Shrine.
Shinao Shrine is mentioned in the ancient historical chronicle Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku. An entry dated March 20 in the second year of the Jōgan era (860) records the granting of a higher court rank to the deity Shinao of Satsuma Province.
In 1910, the unranked Wakamiya Shrine was also merged with Shinao Shrine and is identified with Wakamiya Hachiman. According to local tradition, Nitta Shrine and Shinao Shrine are sometimes described as elder and younger sister deities, respectively, although the precise origin of this story is unclear.
Nitta Shrine now stands at the summit of Mount Shinkame. However, the historical work Satsugūbi Chiri Sankō, published in 1871, states that the mountain originally had only a burial mound at its summit and no shrine buildings.
This description suggests that the mountain may once have been regarded as a sacred place in the manner of ancient Japanese mountain worship. People may have worshipped the sacred summit from the foot of the mountain rather than entering a shrine building at the top.
In 1173, during the reign of Emperor Takakura, the shrine buildings were destroyed by fire. They were subsequently relocated to the summit of Mount Shinkame in 1176.
Nitta Shrine does not appear in the Engishiki, a major compilation of Japanese laws and regulations from the Heian period that includes a list of officially recognized shrines.
This absence is not necessarily considered evidence that the shrine had a low status at the time. Rather, it is thought to reflect the shrine’s unusual character as a place associated with an imperial mausoleum. Its role as a shrine was secondary to its identity as a sacred burial site.
Kashii Shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture is another example of a shrine not listed in the Engishiki because of its historical association with an imperial mausoleum.
Nitta Shrine is closely associated with Kawai no Misasagi, the mausoleum of Ninigi-no-Mikoto. This connection distinguishes it from many ordinary shrines and helps explain its unusual place in historical records.
Today, the shrine continues to welcome many worshippers. Visitors can appreciate not only its sacred atmosphere but also the long history of ancient Japanese beliefs, imperial burial traditions, and the development of religious practices in southern Kyushu.
Nitta Shrine is an important historical and spiritual site in Satsumasendai City. As the Ichinomiya of the former Satsuma Province, it has been revered for centuries and preserves traditions associated with Ninigi-no-Mikoto and the ancient history of the region.
Its location on Mount Shinkame, its connection with Kawai no Misasagi, and the many historical accounts surrounding its founding make it a particularly interesting destination for visitors interested in Japanese mythology and Shinto history.
A visit offers an opportunity to explore a sacred place where local traditions, ancient documents, and the history of Satsuma come together.