Takebe Taisha Shrine （建部大社）

Yamato Takeru (倭建命） was a prince of Japan whose name had been Ousu when he was a child. He was too wild to kill his own brother accidentally and his father, the 12th emperor Keikou （景行天皇 71-131 AD) was afraid of Ousu's strong wildness. Keikou then decided to utilize Ousu's wildness for ruling his nation and sent Ousu to Kyushu to defeat Kumaso clan who had been against the imperial court. Ousu pretended to be a female by dressing up like a girl and sneaked in a mansion of Kumaso's head; the Kumaso Brothers and won the battle. Kumaso Takeru, the head of Kumaso clan was impressed at Ousu's strength after he was defeated and gave Ousu a special name called Yamato Takeru; Yamato is an old name of Japan and Takeru means a strong man. Therefore, Yamato Takeru literally means "Japan's most strong man".

He came back to the palace where his father Keikou lived with the triumph but Keikou told him to go in the east to defeat enemies immediately. He was depressed but left his home again. He was strong to win battles against local clans who were against the imperial court but on his way back to his home after conquering the east region, he was cursed by a local god and died at age of 32.

Upon the news of Yamato Takeru's death, Keikou mourned very much. In order to let his deceased son alive in history, he chose some of his servants and gave them a special surname "Takebe"（建部）and told the Takebes to pass down the prince's history.The Takebe family established a shrine to enshrine the prince and that is the origin of Takebe Taisha Shrine.

Because of the famous strength, many samurai warriors in history worshiped Yamato Takeru. In Kamakura era (1185-1333 AD), Minamoto no Yoritomo (源頼朝）, a founder of Kamakura Shogunate, gave huge donation to the shrine in return of what Yoritomo received from the god.

When Yoritomo was a boy, his family was collapsed since they lost a battle and his father and most of his siblings were executed but he was forced to live and exiled to a remote area as its punishment. On his way of exile, he dropped by this shrine and pray for safety in his journey. In history, as a few decades passed, Yoritomo got allies to fight with and won several battles. He took a revenge to defeat those who killed his family and finally became the shogun (a head of samurai warriors) and founded the Kamakura Shogunate to take governance of the nation. With his political and financial power, he decided to help the shrine since he believed the god in Takebe Shrine saved him during his exile. With these histories, it's been one of big shines in Japan.

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