Good Fortune & Protection
Purification in unlucky years and seasons of stagnation, and the rebuilding of one's luck. A blessing is not a promise, but a signpost for setting yourself in order through prayer.
KyotoKifune Shrine
Head shrine of the water deity, on the banks of the Kifune River.
KyotoKamigamo Shrine (Kamo Wake-ikazuchi Jinja)
Ichinomiya of Yamashiro Province, warding off misfortune with the divine power of thunder.
KyotoKono Shrine
Moto-Ise: where the gods dwelt before moving to Ise.
KyotoManai Shrine
Inner shrine of Kono Shrine, where sacred rocks carry prayers from the earliest age.
NaraOmiwa Shrine
One of Japan's oldest shrines, whose sacred body is Mount Miwa itself.
NaraTamaki Shrine
The inner sanctuary said to be reached only by those who are called.
NaraNiukawakami Shrine Shimosha (Lower Shrine)
A shrine of the water deity, where sacred white and black horses greet you.
MieIse Jingu
From the Outer Shrine to the Inner — two thousand years of prayer.
WakayamaKumano Hongu Taisha
Sacred ground of rebirth — the heart of the three grand shrines of Kumano.
WakayamaKumano Hayatama Taisha
The vermilion grand shrine of Shingu, shaded by its sacred nagi tree.
WakayamaKumano Nachi Taisha
The grand shrine of the Musubi-no-Miya, praying beside Nachi Falls.
NaraTanzan Shrine
Site of the secret council that reshaped Japan, with the only wooden thirteen-story pagoda.
NaraMuro Ryuketsu Shrine
A water shrine whose sacred object is Kissho Ryuketsu, the cave where a dragon is said to dwell.
NaraTakakamo Shrine
Birthplace of the Kamo clan and the ancestral shrine of Kamo shrines nationwide.
NaraKatsuragi Hitokotonushi Shrine
"Ichigon-san," the deity said to grant a wish spoken in a single word.
NaraTakamahiko Shrine
Shrine of the musubi deity, in a place handed down as Takamagahara, the High Plain of Heaven.
NaraYatagarasu Shrine
Shrine of Yatagarasu, the crow that guided Emperor Jimmu, a shrine of opening the way.
SaitamaMitsumine Shrine
A sacred precinct some 1,100 meters up, guarded by the wolf messengers called o-inu-sama.
SaitamaKanasana Shrine
Second shrine of old Musashi Province — a sanctuary with no main hall, where the mountain itself is worshipped.
IbarakiKashima Jingu
First shrine of old Hitachi Province, enshrining Takemikazuchi — the shrine of "kashima-dachi," the setting forth on a journey.
IbarakiIkisu Shrine
The way-opening deity Kunado and the Oshioi wells — one of the Three Shrines of the East.
GunmaHaruna Shrine
An ancient shrine of the deities of fire and earth, cradled among the crags of Mount Iwao.
TochigiFurumine Shrine
A shrine of fire protection deep in Kobugahara, where tengu sweep away misfortune.
ChibaMakata Shrine
A shrine of the deity of musuhi, home to the largest cryptomeria in eastern Japan.
NaganoTogakushi Shrine
Five shrines beneath a sacred peak, enshrining the gods who opened the Rock Cave of Heaven.
NaganoSuwa Taisha
Head shrine of all Suwa shrines in Japan, famed for the Onbashira Festival.
ShizuokaFujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha
Head shrine of all Sengen shrines, where Mount Fuji itself is worshipped.
YamagataDewa Sanzan Shrine
Haguro, Gassan, Yudono — a journey of rebirth across three sacred mountains.
Itsukushima Shrine
The great torii rising from the sea, shrine of the three Munakata goddesses.
OkayamaSamuhara Shrine (Oku no Miya, the Inner Shrine)
An inner sanctuary of the three gods of creation, guarded by protective sacred characters.
FukuokaMunakata Taisha
Three sanctuaries of Michinushi no Muchi, the deity who guides every path.
OitaUsa Jingu
Head shrine of Hachiman, honored at forty thousand shrines nationwide.
KumamotoHeitate Jingu
A hidden sanctuary of Kyushu, keeper of the Takamagahara legend.
KagoshimaKirishima Jingu
A National Treasure shrine beneath the peak of the heavenly descent.
OkayamaKibitsu Shrine
Source of the Momotaro legend, a grand shrine of paired hip-and-gable roofs.
OkayamaSaijo Inari (Saijo Inarisan Myokyo-ji Temple)
A Nichiren temple of the Inari faith, preserving the old union of kami and buddhas.
Miyama Shrine (Inner Shrine of Itsukushima)
The inner shrine of Itsukushima, resting near the summit of Mount Misen.
Mitaki-dera Temple
Three waterfalls flowing through a Kannon sanctuary of Hiroshima.
Ogamiyama Shrine
Shrine of the sacred Mount Daisen, with an inner sanctuary reached by a natural-stone path.
ShimaneKamosu Shrine
The oldest surviving taisha-zukuri sanctuary, an ancient shrine of the Izumo priestly line.
Iwakuni Shirohebi Shrine
Guardian of the natural-monument white snakes, a shrine linked to Benzaiten.