Bringing a depopulated shrine into the future Miyazaki Shrine in Hiroshima is seeking ongoing donations to revitalize the community.
広島県東広島市にある宮崎神社が、過疎化と少子高齢化によって存続が危ぶまれる中、クラウドファンディングプラットフォーム「READYFOR」を通じて、神社の維持と地域文化の継承を目的とした継続的な支援を呼びかけている。
Miyazaki Shrine in Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, is in danger of extinction due to depopulation, declining birthrates, and an aging population. Through the crowdfunding platform READYFOR, the shrine is seeking ongoing support to maintain the shrine and pass on local culture. The Miyazaki Shrine has a history of more than 600 years.
宮崎神社は600年以上の歴史を持ち、「子どもの守り神さま」として安産祈願や家内安全、縁結びの信仰を集めてきた。しかし、近年は氏子数が200世帯未満に減少し、参拝者もかつての年間1,000人規模から200人程度まで落ち込んでいる。現在は秋祭りと正月神事を中心に行事を維持しているが、社殿や境内の老朽化も進み、地域の信仰拠点としての維持が困難になりつつある。
Miyazaki Shrine has a history of more than 600 years, and as the “guardian god of children,” it has attracted faith for safe childbirth, family safety, and marriage. In recent years, however, the number of shrine parishioners has declined to less than 200 households, and the number of worshippers has dropped from 1,000 in the past to around 200. Currently, the shrine maintains its events with a focus on the fall festival and New Year’s rituals, but the aging of the shrine pavilions and grounds is making it difficult to maintain the shrine as a local center of worship.
こうした状況に危機感を抱いた現宮司は、安定した職を辞して20代で専業の神職となり、神社の再生に着手。春祭りの再興や新たな夏の神事の開催、YouTubeを通じた神社の情報発信（チャンネル登録者2万人超）などの取り組みを進め、一定の成果を上げている。
The current head priest, feeling a sense of crisis, resigned from his stable position to become a full-time priest in his 20s, and began to revitalize the shrine. He has achieved some success in reviving the spring festival, holding a new summer festival, and disseminating information about the shrine via YouTube (more than 20,000 people have registered for the channel).
現在行っている支援募集は無期限で、毎月の定額支援を受け付けている。寄付は祭祀・神事の継続、境内環境の保全、祭具や装束の修繕、神楽など伝統芸能の継承、人材育成などに活用される。支援額に応じて、草刈りや間伐といった日常的な整備から、神楽殿の修繕や支援者参加型ワークショップの開催といった中長期的な事業まで幅広い活動を視野に入れている。
The current call for support is indefinite and accepts fixed monthly donations. Donations will be used for the continuation of rituals, preservation of the shrine’s environment, repair of ritual implements and costumes, succession of traditional performing arts such as kagura, and human resource development. Depending on the amount of support, a wide range of activities are contemplated, from routine maintenance such as weeding and thinning, to mid- to long-term projects such as repairing the kagura hall and holding workshops in which supporters can participate.
「神社は、神様と人、人と人とをつなぐ場所」とする宮司は、「50年後、100年後も続く新しい神社の形を共に創りましょう」と呼びかけている。
The shrine is a place that connects people to God and people to people,“ says the chief priest, calling on the community to ”work together to create a new form of shrine that will last for 50 or even 100 years.
