Career & Victory
Shrines of warrior deities and gods of advancement, for decisive moments and working fortune.
For wishes likeCareer luck, promotion, examinations, contests, reaching goals
TokyoYoyogi Hachimangu
The Hachiman shrine of the Yoyogi woods, home to a famed Inari of career success.
TokyoToranomon Kotohiragu
Edo's "Konpira-sama," at rest amid the office towers.
ChibaKatori Jingu
First shrine of old Shimosa Province, enshrining Futsunushi no Okami — one of the Three Shrines of the East.
SaitamaChichibu Shrine
Guardian shrine of the old Chichibu domain, enshrining the deity of wisdom — home of the Chichibu Night Festival.
IbarakiKashima Jingu
First shrine of old Hitachi Province, enshrining Takemikazuchi — the shrine of "kashima-dachi," the setting forth on a journey.
NaganoSuwa Taisha
Head shrine of all Suwa shrines in Japan, famed for the Onbashira Festival.
ShizuokaKunozan Toshogu
The founding Toshogu, where Ieyasu rests beneath a National Treasure sanctuary.
ShizuokaMishima Taisha
First shrine of Izu Province, revered by Minamoto no Yoritomo and guardian of commerce.
FukuokaDazaifu Tenmangu
Head shrine of the god of learning, fragrant with the Flying Plum.
OitaUsa Jingu
Head shrine of Hachiman, honored at forty thousand shrines nationwide.
About Career & Victory
Shrines of the work and contest lineage enshrine gods of the martial way and deities with deep ties to advancement, and are known for prayers at decisive moments and for fortune in work. They have been cherished as places to ask for strength when everything hangs upon the moment.
Among the enshrined deities are Takemikazuchi no Kami, held to preside over martial valor, along with gods tied to contest and the martial way, and deities told of in stories of rising in the world. Takemikazuchi is said to have shown his strength in the myth of the ceding of the land, and from that bond has been revered as a guardian in contests and in matters of arms. Many shrines took on, in the age of the warrior houses, the faith of prayers for fortune in battle, and prayers of training and contest are said to have been handed down through long years.
This lineage is held to suit the decisive occasions — a crucial examination or negotiation, a match, a promotion or setting out on one's own — and often draws those who would give their all in their work and those who brace themselves toward a goal. People have also come before tense moments, when they would rouse the heart or fix their resolve.
At such shrines, it is said to be good to bow not merely entrusting victory to the gods, but with the intent of renewing before the deity one's vow of daily effort. The strength for the contest is held to dwell in training accumulated; together with asking for support, one would make the shrine a place to confirm one's own diligence. When the desired result is won, one would return with thanks and show gratitude for that support with care.
In choosing a shrine of the work and contest lineage, it is considered good to take as one's guide its ties with the path one challenges or with one's calling. A shrine bearing martial origins, or one near daily life that can be visited from time to time — keeping a shrine where one feels a bond, and visiting at each turning point, is said to become a support for the heart that faces the contest.