Ooharano JInja Shrine（大原野神社）

A spirit can be divided once required. One of the characteristics of Japan's traditional religion; Shintoism is that gods' spirits can be divided and the divided ones deployed in other places. That is why, there are shrines with the same/similar name in which the same deities are enshrined in Japan. For example, you may see many "Sumiyoshi Jinja Shrine" all over Japan but the enshrined deity is divided from the main shrine "Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine" in Osaka.

Ooharano Jinja Shrine （大原野神社）is located far in the west of Kyoto City. From the nearest train station "Japan Railway Mukou-Machi station", you take a bus to get there. The bus firstly goes in a lively downtown and resident places, then goes into a bamboo wood. After those bamboos, you'll be welcomed by literally "green world" made of rice firms, mountains. Especially June is our rainy season, so the rain drops actually make the greenness much greener.

A building in the wood

Walking along the path in the middle of green firms, you will reach a a hill called "Oshio Yama", and there is the spacious woods leading to the main alter in the Ooharano Jinja shrine at the hill's base.

Gate

The shrine enshrines the same four deities as Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara;Take-mikaduchi, Futsunushi, Ama-no-koyane, and Himegami. Spirits of the four gods in Nara were divided and moved to this shrine by the noble Fujiwara-shi clan who was very closed to the imperial family. As the capital and the imperial palace were moved from Nara to Kyoto, The Fujiwara also moved to Kyoto with their ancestor gods in Nara in 8th century, so now the shrine is more than 1,200 years old.




After the long passage covered by the green, you will see the Tori-i gate and the main alter appears in your front. The red-and-white building looks vivid in contrast with the green leaves. In Autumn, those green leaves turn into red and it will also leave you breathless.

Inside the alter

 The main alter was originally established by the emperor Montoku (the 55th emperor: 827-858 AD). Fujiwara clan maintained their power in the imperial court by sending their daughters to the emperors, the crown prices and other the emperor wannabe as their wife (sometimes concubines) and let them give a birth to the imperial heir. The emperor Montoku's mother came from the Fujiwara family; the emperor's grandfather was the head of Fujiwara. 60 years later from the first establishment of the shrine, the emperor built a gorgeous alter in the shrine. Since then, though they have several renovations/restorations, it remains the same as the original one in its form. The gorgeousness can be seen even at present when you are in front of the main alter.