Himi Shrine

Overview

Himi Shrine stands in Suma-Himitsuo, Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Its enshrined deities include Kuraokami-no-kami, a god associated with water, and the shrine sits quietly in a mountain hamlet as a place of worship devoted to a water deity. The very setting, cradled by the unusual place name Himitsuo, lends a distinctive flavour to a visit here. There is nothing showy about it, but it offers the plain, heartfelt scenery of a guardian grove and a rural community's faith.

Highlights

• ●A mountain-village shrine enshrining Kuraokami-no-kami, a god of water
• ●A setting cradled by the unusual place name Suma-Himitsuo
• ●A guardian grove recalling history since the old Suo Province
• ●The plain scenery of heartfelt faith felt in a quiet valley

History

Himi Shrine is an old shrine long venerated in the Suma district of Shunan, an area descended from the former Suo Province. Its deity Kuraokami-no-kami is regarded as a dragon and water god governing the waters of valleys and ravines, suggesting how people living in these hills honoured it in hope of water's blessing and safety. As records of its founding and festival dates are limited, please confirm through official information or local guidance when you visit.

Map

34.2498, 131.8806 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1Drive north from central Shunan into the Suma hills
2. 2Worship at Himi Shrine and walk its hall and guardian grove
3. 3Stroll leisurely through the Himitsuo hamlet and surrounding countryside
4. 4Round off the trip by pairing it with sights or hot springs in Shunan city

Did you know?

💡 The place name Himitsuo, which also reads intriguingly like the Japanese word for secret, chimes with the Himi in the shrine's name. That it enshrines the water god Kuraokami-no-kami conveys the deep bond between water and the people who lived in these valleys.

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