Amemiya Shrine [Kumamoto]

【Amemiya Shrine summary】

Amemiya Shrine has a place called Totoro no Mori (Totoro Forest) by the locals. Its founding is unknown, but it was rebuilt around the middle of the Eikyo period (1429-1441), and it seemed to have been restored several times since then.

Records indicate that in 1472, Hitoyoshi Kuma area was hit by a severe drought that killed weeds and even trees in the mountain forests. The lord of the time, Sagara Tametsugu, after praying at various temples and shrines to no avail, finally paid a visit to the Amamiya Shrine himself, and after offering a prayer that made him vomit blood, composed two poems. Then, the weather changed drastically, and it began to rain heavily. This is said to have been the origin of the prayer for rain, and made the prestige of Amamiya Shrine well known.

The deities are Amenomikumari no Kami, Kuninomikumari no Kami, Kuinamochi no Kami, Takaokami no Kami, and Funatama no Mikoto, all of whom are deities related to water and rain.

It is a very strange place, appearing out of the rice paddies and probably surrounded by trees around a large bedrock.

Shimotsuke Hoshinomiya Shrine [Tochigi]

Totoro forests exist throughout Japan, and there is one remaining as a shrine in Tochigi Prefecture.

【Amemiya Shrine road approaching a shrine】

From the torii gate, there is a steep staircase that makes you want to brace yourself. 112 steps, but it was tougher than I thought it would be. You might want to be prepared for it beforehand.

At the top of the stairs, there is a small but well-preserved shrine with a main hall and a worship hall, which seems to have been worshipped by the local people. The ground was covered with roots of trees, which seemed to be rooted on top of the huge stones, making the place very mysterious.

The shrine is the one that is twilighted in the opening of the fourth season of the anime Natsume’s Book of Friends and other scenes of Natsume’s recollections of her childhood.

There was a travel notebook in the shrine and it seemed that anime fans were making pilgrimages to sacred places.

【Amemiya Shrine Three products (Shanshan) inner shrine】

At the back is a natural stone tunnel known as the Sanzan Kuguri (Shan Shan).

It is said to bring three blessings: “to give birth to happiness,” “to ensure safe delivery,” and “to give birth to money. It is said that if you go under this shrine, you will be blessed with a child.

【Amemiya Shrine Nearby attractions】

Sagara Gokoku Shrine and Hitoyoshi Castle Ruins、Aoi Aso Shrine、Tamachi Sugawara Tenmangu Shrine

Sagara Gokoku Shrine and Hitoyoshi Castle Ruins [Kumamoto]

Aoi Aso Shrine [Kumamoto]

Tamachi Sugawara Tenmangu Shrine [Kumamoto]

【Amemiya Shrine Access】

On the way to the Hitoyoshi IC, follow the sign “Amamiya Shrine Totoro no Mori” along a narrow road and you will arrive at a parking space by the entrance of Amamiya Shrine. There is space for about three cars there.

関連投稿(Related Posts):

Sagara Gokoku Shrine and Hitoyoshi Castle Ruins [Kumamoto] Aoi Aso Shrine [Kumamoto] Tamachi Sugawara Tenmangu Shrine [Kumamoto] Kounosé-sekkai-doukutsu cave and Iwato-kumanoza-jinja shrine [Kumamoto]