The Kibitsu Jinja is located in the western part of Okayama city, facing north at the northwestern foot of Mount Kibi-Nakayama (elevation 175 meters) on the border between former Bizen Province and Bitchū Province. The mountain has been worshipped as a sacred mountain from ancient times, and both the Kibitsu Jinja and Kibitsuhiko Jinja are located at its northeastern foot. Kibitsu Jinja was originally the general guardian of Kibi Province, but due to the division of Kibi Province into three provinces, it became the ichinomiya of Bitchū, and bunrei from this shrine created the ichinomiya of Bizen Province (Kibitsuhiko Jinja) and Bingo Province (Kibitsu Shrine).
The Shrine has a unique dual worship of Sorei or ancestral spirits alongside Mizuko kuyō[4]: 239 or cults of miscarried babies.
The shrine started as a place for the Kibi clan. It has the clan's ancestors as gods. This gives the shrine a pure and protective feel. The ancestors are seen as good and helpful spirits. This is how the shrine connects with mizuko. Mizuko means the souls of babies who died early or were not born.[4]: 239
The shrine places the mizuko shrine next to the ancestor shrine. It also uses running water. This setup has several meanings:[4]: 239
The water purifies the souls of mizuko. Mizuko is linked to water.[4]: 239
Being near the ancestor shrine suggests these souls become kind and protective spirits.[4]: 239
As protective spirits, the mizuko guard those who remember them.[4]: 239
This way, the Kibitsu Shrine uses its ties to the Kibi clan. It creates a respectful place for mizuko. It links them to the shrine's ancestral and protective gods.[4]: 239
The origins of Kibitsu Jinja are uncertain. According to the shrine's legend, it is located at the site of Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto's residence, where he died at the age of 281, and was buried on the summit of the mountain. Afterwards, the residence was turned into a shrine, possibly by his fifth generation descendent Narumi Kaya, or by Emperor Nintoku, who visited Kibi Province where he built several shrines to commemorate Kibitsuhiko. However, the shrine does not appear in any historical documentation until the late Heian period, until entry in the Shoku Nihon Kōki dated 847 and the Nihon Montoku Tennō Jitsuroku dated 852. In the Engishiki it was given the rank of Myojin Taisha (名神大社) and the rank of ichinomiya of the province. From the Kamakura through the Sengoku period, was revered by the samurai, and there were frequent restorations of the shrine and donations of territory. [citation needed]
During the Edo period, the shrine's land became smaller. However, it still got a special land grant from the shogunate. This grant was for 160 koku of rice every year. There was a busy market near the shrine. People also visited teahouses and inns there. Inside the shrine area, there was a theater and a brothel. The shrine was a busy place along the San’yodō for travellers. This continued until the Meiji Restoration..[5]: 282
After the Meiji Restoration in 1871, it was listed as a National Shrine, 2nd rank (国幣中社, Kokuhei Chusha), and is 1914 was promoted to a Imperial Shrine, 2nd rank (官幣中社, Kampei Chusha).[6][7]
Honden and Haiden, Muromachi period, built in 1390 and relocated their present locations in 1425.The main shrine has a Kibitsu-zukuri style roof, which consists of two Irimoya-zukuri roof are lined up in front and behind. The influence of Buddhist architecture can be seen in many details of the structure.[8]
Glossary of Shinto
