Many people don’t realize this, but Taichung’s oldest city god temple is actually located in the city’s Fengyuan District. The Fengyuan City God Temple, which has more than 159 years of history, every year uses a traditional Japanese-style mikoshi — or portable Shinto shrine — to carry out a procession around the district, a tradition that by now has been maintained for 87 years. The “Taiwanese deity sitting on a Japanese shrine” has become something of a unique custom, and the temple has applied to the Taichung City Cultural Heritage Department for the event to be officially listed as a part of the city’s cultural heritage.
The chairman of the Fengyuan City God Temple says that according to documents and records, the temple was founded in 1856. Because the old name for Fengyuan District was “Huludun,” the temple was originally called “Dunjiao City God Temple.” However, following the establishment of Fengyuan Township, the name was changed to Fengyuan Dunjiao City God Temple. Following suggestions by academics at the time, “Dunjiao” was dropped from the name and the present name has been in use ever since.
Processions can be divided into those that take place within the city limits and those that are held outside the city. The inner-city procession takes place every year on the 24th day of the sixth month according to the lunar calendar, while processions that go outside the city limits and reach as far as the districts of Shihgang and Daya, go ahead come rain or shine and have never once been suspended.
Photo courtesy of Wen Tsung-han
照片：溫宗翰提供
(Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones)
你可能不知道，台中市歷史最悠久的城隍廟，其實在豐原！超過一百五十九年歷史的豐原城隍廟，每年以傳統日式神轎進行遶境活動，至今已維持八十七載。「台灣神坐日本轎」成為獨特習俗，廟方已申請列入台中市文化資產。
豐原城隍廟主委說，根據相關文獻記載，豐原城隍廟於西元一八五六年設廟，因豐原舊地名葫蘆墩而命名為「墩腳城隍廟」。隨著設立豐原鎮，改名為「豐原墩腳城隍廟」，再依當時學者建議將墩腳去掉，沿用至今。
遶境可分市內及市外，市內是每年農曆六月十四日舉行，市外則遠及石岡、大雅，風雨無阻未曾間斷。
(自由時報記者李忠憲、黃鐘山)
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