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Noritoyama Hachiman Shrine (祝詞山八幡神社)
Noritoyama Hachiman Shrine is located about a 12-minute walk from Kazahaya Station on the JR Kure Line. The shrine is said to have been built about 1,200 years ago and enshrines a local deity who protects the town of Akitsu. Around the same time the shrine was built, an aristocrat who held great power at the time composed a waka poem at the site of the shrine. The content of the waka poem has been turned into a stone monument on the shrine grounds, conveying the long history of Noritoyama Hachiman Shrine to the present day.
- Open
- Open 24/7
- Closed
- Never closes
Moment of Joy
Noritoyamahachiman Shrine has one of the longest histories of any shrine in Japan. As a result, there are many old and rare structures in the shrine grounds, such as stone statues of ball-riding komainu (guardian dogs) made in the mid-19th century, and sessha (shrines of auxiliary gods worshipped together with the main god) of major Japanese shrines such as Itsukushima Shrine and Gion Shrine. Noritoyamahachiman Shrine also holds a festival every October. A unique festival culture has developed here, with parades of portable shrines and dances by people wearing masks.
