During its launching ceremony, a flock of white doves (the traditional messengers of the war god Hachiman) was released, setting a precedent for all future launchings of Japanese warships.
It is said that, on September 12, 1271 Nichiren, arrested in his hut in Nagoe and on his way to the execution ground in Tatsunokuchi to be beheaded, turned to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū and yelled: "Hachiman Bosatsu, if you are a kami, give me a sign for the sake of Buddhism!"
A wooden sitting Hachiman statue and a female god statue are designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan
Deities enshrined here include Ame-no-Koyane no mikoto (天児屋根命), Kumano no ookami (熊野大神), Itsukushima no ookami (厳島大神), Ookuninushi no mikoto (大国主命), Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane, 菅原大神), Hachiman (八幡大神), Kotohira ookami (琴平大神), Susanoo no mikoto (素盞鳴男命) and Mikumari no kami (天水分大神).