SAPPORO JINJA

   = Hokkaido Jingu. A shrine in Sapporo, Hokkaido, founded immediately after the Meiji restoration in 1869 for the protection of Hokkaido, whose inhabitants, the Ainu were subjugated and the island almost completely 'Japanised' by the early twentieth century. It enshrines the kaitaku sanshin, 'three deities of the opening up of the land' mentioned in the Kojiki, namely O-kuni-tama-no-kami (O-kuni-nushi), O-namuji-no-kami and Sukuna-hikona-no-kami. The main festival on June 15th features a procession of participants in ancient Japanese costumes.