At Bushu Kakio Kotohira Shrine, the shrine pavilions were deserted, but the ceremonial hall was constantly visited by worshippers

Torii gate of Bushu Kakio Kotohira Shrine and a young couple visiting the shrine — Torii of Bushu Kakio Kotohira Jinja Shrine and a young couple visiting the shrine

The small shrine pavilion perched on a towering hill is said to be unusual in that Amaterasu, the deity of Amatsu-Kami, and Omotonushi, the deity of Kunitsu-Kami, are enshrined side by side. But the location is not good. Although there is a detour, the front path is steep enough to discourage people from visiting the shrine. When I visited the shrine, there were no other worshippers, and the area in front of the shrine was quiet.

In contrast to the quiet surroundings of the shrine, the ceremonial hall on the flat ground was bustling with people. If one did not know any better, one would think that a shrine hall enshrining a deity was located here, with a magnificent torii gate standing at the entrance, and worshippers were constantly passing through it on their way to the ceremonial hall. The ceremonial hall, which is supposed to be nothing more than a building for weddings and other ceremonies, has a much more grandiose appearance than the main shrine. The Kotohira Jinja Shrine in Kakio, Kawasaki, is a little unusual in that the shrine building is deserted, but the ceremonial hall is very crowded.

The young couple in the photo must have come to visit the shrine with their baby. They passed through the vermilion torii gate and made their way to the ceremonial hall without hesitation. I have a feeling that the Ujigami (local deity), to whom we must report the safe birth of our baby, is not in this shrine but in a shrine on a hill a little further away, but perhaps Shinto deities are as ubiquitous as Christian deities.

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