Kojino Shrine

Overview

Kojino Shrine (Kojino Jinja) is a Shinto shrine in the Sumoto district of Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture. It appears in the ancient Engishiki register under Yasu district of Omi Province as "Kojino Shrine, two seats," and its most distinctive feature is that two shrines of the same name—an upper and a lower shrine—stand about 500 meters apart. The main halls are built in the traditional nagare-zukuri style of Japanese shrine architecture.

Highlights

• ●A venerable Shikinaisha listed as "two seats" in the Engishiki
• ●Upper and lower shrines standing about 500 meters apart
• ●A location believed to originate in river worship
• ●Main halls built in the traditional nagare-zukuri style

History

Recorded in the Engishiki as "two seats," the shrine is thought to have formed a single Shikinaisha comprising both sites. In earlier times, before it was filled in, a southern branch of the Yasu River split off and flowed into Lake Biwa near the two shrines, both of which stood on its left-bank levee—suggesting the shrine originated in a form of river worship. Because it is difficult, both geographically and from historical records, to determine which of the upper or lower shrine was the true Shikinaisha, scholars note the two may have been closely linked in ritual.

Map

35.0937, 135.9702 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1Travel from JR Moriyama Station toward the Sumoto district
2. 2Pay respects at the lower Kojino Shrine
3. 3Walk to the upper shrine, tracing the old river course
4. 4Return to the station while taking in the rural scenery

Did you know?

💡 It is rare across Japan for two shrines of the same name to stand only about 500 meters apart, preserving the memory of the now filled-in southern branch of the Yasu River. The nagare-zukuri main halls, with their gently sweeping front roofs, represent one of Japan's classic shrine architectural styles.

Nearby spots