Which deity is enshrined/worshipped at the Hikawa shrine?

[Crescent Pulsar R]

The one where Hino Rei -- from Sailor Moon -- works as a miko. If I remember correctly, it may have been based on a real shrine, but from what I looked up I'm still unsure of the deity (or deities, if that's the case). I'm hoping for Inari, but chances are it's not. ;/

[frice2000]

About to go to sleep but found these pertient links:
http://wikimoon.org/index.php?title=Hikawa_shrine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azabu states that there is a Inari shrine in the area but don't think that's the shrine they're supposed to be at.
this Google search is for the correct shrine. I see lots of pictures of kitsune at said shrine but no official confirmation of deity. Ill look more tomorrow but you can probably find the answer yourself somewhere in those hits.

[Cheb]

it may have been based on a real shrine,

Real life info won't work. The shrine name is phonetically the same but it is written with different kanji ("ice river" in RL, "fire river" in the anime).

I did some re-reading of wikipedia lately and it seems that Shinto is in fact *shamanism*. So Rei's grandfather isn't technically a monk. He's a shaman. Also "miko" translates as "female shaman". "Kami" aren't gods, but more precisely spirits (where "gods" are simply the most powerful spirits).

So there's a chance the shrine could be dedicated to worshiping spirits in general. After all, there are eight millions|a myriad of them.

[Crescent Pulsar R]

I dunno... Don't shrines like those usually have at least one "patron" deity? One they're mainly dedicated to? I know that some popular deities are worshipped in thousands of shrines in that way. I've honestly never heard of Shinto shrines that weren't devoted to one even if other deities could also be worshipped. Heck, there have been three manga series I've come across in the past few months that stresses the one deity per shrine thing, and one where said deity went out to check the shrines that were dedicated to them.

After some looking around at some images I could find of the shrine on Sendai hill, I'm almost certain it's not Inari. I think at least one of the other Hikawa shrines in the area is devoted to Susano-o, though.

[frice2000]

Hikawa shrines in the area is devoted to Susano-o

Yep pretty sure that's the answer. This book which seems to be pretty well spoken certainly seems to indicate that.

[mondu_the_fat]

I've honestly never heard of Shinto shrines that weren't devoted to one even if other deities could also be worshipped. Heck, there have been three manga series I've come across in the past few months that stresses the one deity per shrine thing, and one where said deity went out to check the shrines that were dedicated to them.

Since we're including fiction, Reimu's shrine does not have a specific patron deity.

For the IN/SM crossover I worked on I also tried to find if Rei woshipped a specific deity, but could not find references to it. The anime first season refers to fire spirits which apparently empower the sacred fire, but they are unnamed. Briefly, an image appears in the fire. If you can get a hold of that image (my dvds are missing so I can't help there) and compare it to a real-life statue or something, then you'd get a name.

I suspect that it is indeed susano-o, though, or very much based on him.

[Crescent Pulsar R]

Actually, I believe the Hakurei shrine is dedicated to a deity, but I don't think it's been named. Especially since the tenth game in the Touhou series, since (to my understanding) the deity needs faith for power which they then gift their miko. I could be wrong about that, though.

Well, if someone were to go with fire spirits, they could probably get away with choosing a deity that's connected to fire.

[Lioconvoy]

How about Ho-oh, she uses a phoenix in one of her attacks.

[Crescent Pulsar R]

Who is that? I don't recall a deity named Ho-oh (Phoenix), or a phoenix being a goddess.

[Lioconvoy]

I'm just saying the phoenix is a fire spirit isn't it?

[Crescent Pulsar R]

I couldn't tell you. But I'd assume that Suzaku would be more appropriate.

[Lioconvoy]

That was the name I was looking for...I couldn't remember it so the next best Pheonix name I could remember was Ho-oh.

[Té Rowan]

In this blog record, http://www.davidchart.com/Blog/2010/02/19/kamimeguro-hikawa-shrine/, the author, David Chart, pays a visit to the Kamimeguro Hikawa shrine. According to his words, Hikawa shrines are a regional phenomenon, found almost exclusively in Tokyo and Saitama prefectures, and that they enshrine Susano-o no Mikoto.

[Crescent Pulsar R]

Thanks, everyone. All this information should tell me what I need to know.