TaikiTown 's Tonomiya Shiho Shrine is the only shrine in Japan that is named ``Atama no Miya.'' Power up with divine virtues related to “head” and “wisdom”!

``Kashinomiya Shiho Shrine'' is located in Taiki TaikiTown, in a quiet mountainous area where ouchiyama River, a tributary of the Miyagawa River, flows nearby.
The area is surrounded by greenery and the clear air feels great!

There are three parking lots, two on the south side of the shrine and one on the north side, and they are easy to find as they are guided by large signs.
There is also a restroom in the parking lot just across the bridge from the shrine.

A large torii gate at the entrance. Calm yourself down, bow, and head inside!

Tonomiya Shiho Shrine is a shrine dedicated to Karahashi Chujo Mitsumori, a descendant of Emperor Kanmu who built Heiankyo, and was enshrined in Kenkyu. 2 (1191). This is a shrine with a history of over 800 years.

There is a place called Chujokura on top of a high mountain at the back of the Karakogawa River that flows next to the shrine, and there is a place called Chujokura, where Karahashi Lieutenant General Lord Mitsumori had his castle.


A mysterious history has been passed down regarding the founding of Tonomiya Shiho Shrine.
Long ago, when the village children were playing in the Karako River, a skull and crossbones came floating down the river.
When the children were playing with the skull and crossbones, an old man passing by saw them and scolded them for being unclean, and made them stop playing with them.
After a while, the old man suddenly began to speak, as if something had possessed him.
"I am Lord Mitsumori, Vice Admiral Karahashi. I was having fun playing with the children, but an old man prevented me from playing. If you worship and enshrine this skull, it will bring happiness to everyone and protect them forever."
It is said that this shrine began when the villagers heard about this and built a shrine at the current location to enshrine the skull.

Since then, many divine and virtuous phenomena have occurred, especially in matters related to the head, so it has come to be revered by everyone as the guardian deity of the head and the god of wisdom.

By the way, the ``shiho'' in the shrine's name refers to north, south, east, and west, and it seems to mean that the divine virtues spread in all directions.

Now, let's walk around the grounds!
Go through the torii gate and cross the bridge to the shrine.

First, go to the chozuya where you can cleanse your hands before visiting the shrine.
The water in this chozuisha is said to be natural water that collects rainwater from the surrounding mountains!
The water that flows through the beautiful mountains of Okuise makes you feel the power.


*Currently, in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the method is to wash with running water instead of using a ladle.

As it is called ``Head Palace,'' there are points throughout the shrine grounds that look like heads or faces.
One of these is the large stone that collects water at the chozyuya. This stone is called ``Chiwaki-ishi,'' and it was brought from a place where women worshiped and prayed for safe childbirth and good milk production.
If you look closely, it looks like the face of a woman with a gentle expression...! ?

A cedar tree, which is a sacred tree, towers just beyond the kounogi.
The tree is 300 to 400 years old, and its spine grows tall as it grows high into the sky.
The cedar tree, which is said to be a straight tree and is also known as ``sugi,'' is said to be a symbol at shrines that ``its appearance reminds us not to forget to live our daily lives with a straight and honest heart.'' It seems that the tree is cherished.

What you can see behind the sacred kounogi is the worship hall!
It stands solidly in a solemn atmosphere.

As you walk towards the shrine, you will see an information board on your right that shows the shrine's history and divine virtues, so check it out before visiting the shrine.
"In daily life, the right direction and calm decisions are born from a calm head," he says, not only in studies and business, but also in traffic safety, marriage, safe childbirth, mental and mental illness, warding off evil spirits, family safety, and healthy longevity. You can see that there are various divine virtues such as.

This is the newly built shrine building at "Heisei no Taizogu Shrine" in November 1997!

When you enter, you will see the worship hall in the foreground, and the main hall in the back where the deity is enshrined.
The main shrine is a sacred place that only Shinto priests can enter, so worship and pray should be done in the front shrine.
By the way, the structure of the main shrine is the same Shinmeizukuri style as IseJingu!

To receive prayers, you must apply in advance at the shrine's conferring office.

Visiting hours: 8:30-17:00 (may end around 16:00)
Prayer reception hours/9:00-15:30
Prayer fee: Regular prayer 6,000 yen or more, Suehiro prayer 8,000 yen or more, Special prayer 10,000 yen or more

It is best to actually visit this place and receive prayers, but Tononomiya Shiho Shrine offers a prayer service for people who have difficulty visiting the shrine because they are far away and cannot coordinate their time, or because they are not feeling well and cannot go out. We also send prayers and amulets by mail!

It seems that we have received more applications than usual for the efforts to send prayers by mail and send amulets, which we have been doing for a while, now that it is difficult to go out due to the coronavirus pandemic!
If you are interested, please check the official website.

There are plenty of other attractions within the grounds!
This is a place where sacred water called ``Kobe no Mizu'' gushes out. The large toad stone statue is charming♪
The toad ``hiki'' is treated as a lucky charm that ``attracts'' happiness, and many people believe that this frog is a ``divine frog'' (thinking) that serves the gods.

The ``Mizutori Shinji'' is held on the first Sunday of February, when this sacred water has the most power of the year.
By pouring sacred water into a 1-sho bottle, which is compared to a person's "lifetime," and drinking it over 9 days, bad luck and misfortune will be warded off, and on the 10th day, your wishes will come true!
It is said that many people visit the shrine every year in search of divine virtues.

You can freely drink this water even on non-event days.

Next to it is ``Kobe no Ishi'', also known as ``Okakira-san''. If you look closely, it's a strangely shaped stone that looks like several people's faces!
Since ancient times, it has been believed that gods reside in natural objects such as stones and trees at shrines.
This head stone was picked up from the Karako River that flows in front of the shrine, and was placed here because it is related to the sacred object of worship, ``Okashira''.

By stroking the head stone in hopes of healing the bad parts of your body, you will receive power from the stone!
Some parts of the stone are smooth and shiny, and you can see that many worshipers have stroked it with their wishes!

You can also see the Otaki waterfall flowing into the Karako River through the torii gate in the temple grounds.
You can purify your mind and body by worshiping at the waterfall, so be sure to stop by to purify yourself before visiting the shrine.

If you go down the stairs from the shrine grounds along the river, you can see the waterfall even closer!

Okuise, where the headwaters of the Miyagawa River flow, is full of nature. In the past, when transportation was not developed, it was not easy to visit.
I heard that God had chosen this quiet, unexplored place as a sacred place, and it was such a mystical space that I thought I could understand why God chose this place.

After visiting the shrine, head back to the shrine.
Here you can receive amulets, talismans, votive tablets, and more!

The ``Kashira no Omamori'' unique to Kashira no Miya Shiho Shrine is a talisman that prays for a healthy mind that will improve your daily life and give you wisdom.

There are also amulets named after the god of the head, such as the "Tenshoku-mamori" which is popular among people who wish for job safety, changing jobs, passing employment exams, and qualification exams!
You can also request these amulets to be sent to you by mail from the website.

This ema is called a plain ema, and as you can see, it doesn't have any pictures on it.
It seems that this simple design was created to resemble the ``white stone'' that has been used since ancient times to make wishes at Tonomiya Shiho Shrine.
Moreover, Tonomiya Shiho Shrine is said to be the birthplace of these plain ema!

Many votive tablets with wishes written on them were hung on the votive tablets in the shrine grounds.

The shrine grounds are surrounded by greenery and are very quiet, so just walking around gave me a soothing and refreshing feeling.
I hope you can take slow, deep (divine) breaths, clear your head, and do your best again!
Why don't you all come and visit us?