Karamatsu Shrine

Overview

Karamatsu Shrine stands in the Kyowa area of Daisen City, Akita Prefecture. Revered as a guardian deity watching over the whole of a woman's life, it has long been worshipped as a god of matchmaking, of blessings for children, and of safe childbirth, and is affectionately known as Sakai no Karamatsu-sama. Walking up the cedar-lined approach, you reach shrine buildings cradled in a quiet sacred grove where centuries of accumulated prayer can be felt. Known as a shrine that stands close to women's wishes, it is a place of deep pedigree that draws worshippers from within and beyond the prefecture.

Highlights

• ●Worship as a lifelong guardian of women, for matchmaking, children and safe birth
• ●The Edo-period cedar rows of the approach, a prefecture-designated natural monument
• ●The inner sanctuary and wooden lion head, prefecture-designated tangible cultural properties
• ●Karamatsuzan Amatsuhinomiya in the grounds and the Heian-origin Jato kagura, a city-designated intangible cultural property

History

This ancient shrine is said to date from the Heian period and was revered in medieval times by the Onodera and Satake clans. In the late Heian era it became Karamatsuzan Koun-ji temple under the fusion of Shinto and Buddhism, enshrining a seated Fukukensaku Kannon attributed to the sculptor Jocho, and in the Edo period it was counted as the 18th sacred site of the thirty-three Kannon pilgrimage sites of the six districts of Akita. At the Meiji separation of Shinto and Buddhism it was divided into Atago Shrine and Karamatsu Shrine, first regarded as a household shrine of the Mononobe clan and later becoming a village shrine. Within the grounds stands Karamatsuzan Amatsuhinomiya as well.

Map

39.6103, 140.3207 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1Walk the cedar-lined approach and take in the stillness of the sacred grove
2. 2Pay your respects at the main hall and pray for matchmaking, children and safe birth
3. 3Visit Karamatsuzan Amatsuhinomiya and reflect on the shrine's long history
4. 4Seek out the cultural properties, such as the inner sanctuary and lion head, as you tour the grounds

Did you know?

💡 The Jato kagura dance, traced to the Heian period, is an intangible cultural property designated by Daisen City; the inner sanctuary and a wooden lion head, thought to date from the Muromachi period, are tangible cultural properties designated by Akita Prefecture; and the cedar rows along the approach, planted in the Edo period, are a designated natural monument of the prefecture. The belief that the deity guards the whole of a woman's life is unique to this shrine.

Nearby spots