Tsushima Shrine
Shinto shrine in Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Tsushima Shrine (津島神社, Tsushima Jinja) is a Shinto shrine in Tsushima, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is the head shrine of a nationwide shrine network of shrines dedicated to the Tsushima Cult (津島信仰, Tsushima Shinkō). Centered primarily in the Tōkai region, this network has approximately 3,000 shrines and is the tenth largest network in the country. The main kami of this faith are Gozu Tennō (牛頭天王, lit. ox-headed heaven king), the god of pestilences, and Susanoo, two deities that have been conflated together. For this reason, like other shrines of the network, it is also called Tsushima Gozutennō-sha (津島牛頭天王社, lit. Tsushima Gozutennō Shrine). (See Gion cult for more information.)
History
Shrine legend, unsupported by any historical documentation, claims that the shrine was founded in Tsushima by the semi-legendary Emperor Kōrei (343-215 BCE) to worship Gozutennō's aramitama (its violent side), which remained at Izumo-taisha, and it's nigemitama (calm aspect) which came to Japan from the Korean peninsula after stopping in Tsushima Island, between Korea and Japan. The shrine relocated to its current location in Owari Province in 540 CE. This may explain the relationship between the two Tsushimas suggested by the common name. The shrine appears in historical records from the time of Emperor Saga (786-846 CE), during whose rank it was awarded the status of First Court Rank, indicating that it was of considerable importance and antiquity by that time.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Tsushima Shrine” is shinto shrine in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Tsushima, Shrine and Shinto, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “shinto shrine in Aichi Prefecture, Japan” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q705136. VIAF identifies the subject as 254127616. Authority coordinates are 35.178, 136.719. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Tsushima Shrine” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.