Samukawa-jinja Shrine (寒川神社)

The sando of Samukawa-jinja Shrine

Samukawa-jinja Shrine (寒川神社) is a Shinto shrine, located in the Miyayama District of Samukawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, recognized as the ichinomiya of Sagami Province.

The main hall of Samukawa-jinja Shrine (寒川神社)

Goshinboku

The kami enshrined are Samukawahiko-no-mikoto and Samukawahime-no-mikoto, collectively known as Samukawa-Daimyojin.  They are the only deities associated with Happo-yoke, a divine virtue believed to bring prosperity in business and good luck by removing misfortunes and disasters related to land characteristics, house layouts, directions, and numerological dates.

Kontengi (armillary sphere)

The exact founding date of the shrine is unclear, but some records suggest that offerings were made during the reign of Emperor Yuryaku (456–479), with a shrine building constructed in 727.  The oldest official mention of the shrine appears in the Shoku Nihon Koki, stating that its kami was granted the shinkai (divine rank) of Jugoige (Lower Grade Junior Fifth Rank) in 846.  This shinkai was elevated over the years, with Jushiige (Lower Grade Junior Fourth) in 854, Shoshiige (Lower Senior Fourth Rank) in 884, and Shoshiijo (Upper Senior Fourth Rank) in 916.  Notably, the Engishiki Jinmyocho, completed in 927, lists Samukawa-jinja Shrine as the only Myojin Taisha among the 13 shrines in Sagami Province.

In front of the hall stand two Japanese cedar trees which are the goshinboku said to be where Samukawahiko-no-mikoto and Samukawahime-no-mikoto reside.  A replica of a kontengi (armillary sphere) is displayed at the corner in front of the main hall, symbolizing Happo-yoke.

Shinmon

The Shinmon (神門), the shrine gate in front of the main hall, is a multi-story structure built in 1993 and is decorated annually with the Geishun Nebuta from January to February.  The Minami-mon (南門), or south gate, was constructed in 1929 and originally served as the Shinmon.

Minami-mon

Kantakeyama Shinen (神嶽山神苑)

The entrance to Kantakeyama Shinen

Behind the main hall lies Kantakeyama (神嶽山), now organized as a shinen (garden), which opened in August 2009.  This area features Nanba-no-koike (難波の小池), a sacred spring closely related to the shrine's origins, along with a teahouse, an archive center for Happo-yoke, and a subordinate shrine of Mioya-jinja Shrine (御祖神社).

Visitors are permitted into the shinen after receiving a religious service.  The shinen is open from early March to December 13, closing on Mondays unless it is a national holiday, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Miyayama-jinja Shrine (宮山神社)

The torii standing at the entrance of Miyayama-jinja Shrine

The haiden of Miyayama-jinja Shrine

On the west side of Samukawa-jinja Shrine is the subordinate shrine of Miyayama-jinja Shrine (宮山神社), founded by merging seven smaller shrines in the area.  According to the sign in front of the shrine, which slightly differs from the information on Samukawa-jinja Shrine's official website, in December 1908, it was merged with Kotohira-sha (琴平社), Yatsurugi-sha (八劍社), Ikazuchi-sha (雷社), Negishi-sha (祢岐志社), and Wakamiya Hachiman-sha (若宮八幡社), and in September 1914, with Inari-sha (稲荷社).  Although the shrine building collapsed during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, it was repaired in 1930 with government funding.  The last merger occurred in September 1969 with Mitsumine-sha (三峰社).