Hiyoshi Taisha

Hiyoshi Taisha is a shrine at the foot of Mt. Hiei in Sakamoto, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, and it is the head shrine of the more than 3,800 Hiyoshi, Hie and Sanno shrines across Japan. According to shrine tradition, it was founded about 2,100 years ago, in the 7th year of Emperor Sujin's reign. When the capital moved to Heian-kyo, the shrine lay to its northeast, the "demon gate" direction, so it was revered as a shrine for warding off evil and disaster for the capital; after Dengyo Daishi (Saicho) founded Enryaku-ji on Mt. Hiei, it was also worshipped as a guardian deity of the Tendai school.

There are about 40 shrines on the grounds, and all their deities are collectively called "Hiyoshi Okami." At the center are the seven Sanno shrines, led by the Nishi Hongu (West Main Shrine), dedicated to Onamuchi no Kami, and the Higashi Hongu (East Main Shrine), dedicated to Oyamakui no Kami. According to the shrine, the name was once written with characters read "Hie," and from around the Heian period a character meaning "good fortune" also came into use. The grounds hold many cultural properties, including two National Treasures and 17 Important Cultural Properties.

The two National Treasures are the main sanctuaries of the Nishi Hongu and Higashi Hongu, both built in a style called Hiyoshi-zukuri. According to the shrine, Hiyoshi-zukuri is a unique style used only for the two main shrines and the Usa-gu. From the front it looks like a hip-and-gable roof, but because aisles are attached to the front and both sides of the inner sanctuary where the deity is enshrined, the back looks as though it has been cut off. Beneath the floor is a room called the gedono, where Buddhist images of the deities were kept until the separation of Shinto and Buddhism in the Meiji era.

The Nishi Hongu Main Sanctuary dates from 1586 according to the national cultural properties database. Otsu City's description says construction began in 1586 and that it was reworked in 1597. The Nishi Hongu Worship Hall dates from the same year, 1586, as the main sanctuary and is an Important Cultural Property. The two-story gate in front of it was built around 1586, and carvings of monkeys, the shrine's divine messengers, can be seen on the eaves at its four corners. The Higashi Hongu Main Sanctuary dates from 1595; according to Otsu City, its structure is almost the same as the Nishi Hongu sanctuary, except that the ground behind it is higher.

Allow about 40 minutes to walk around the grounds, or about 90 minutes in the autumn foliage season. There are about 3,000 maple trees on the grounds, and the shrine gives mid- to late November as the best time to see them. The Okumiya (inner shrine) on Mt. Hachioji is about 1 km from the trailhead, a steep mountain path that takes about 30 minutes each way on foot. During the Sanno Festival, the Uma no Shinji on April 12 brings portable shrines down the mountain by torchlight, and on April 14 seven portable shrines cross to Lake Biwa in the Mikoshi Togyo procession.