Hakusan Shrine is located in Hongo, Nisshin City, Aichi Prefecture. Nisshin City is rich in nature, including satoyama, rice fields, farms, rivers and reservoirs, and has a tranquil townscape. It is an easy-to-live-in area with convenient access to neighboring Nagoya City and Toyota City.

Surrounded by greenery and easily visible from the main road, this historic shrine has been passed down to the present day and is visited by many worshippers from all over the country, in addition to locals.

In ancient times, Aichi County covered a wide area stretching from part of Nagoya City to Seto City, and this shrine was worshiped as the guardian deity of the region. Many other deities are enshrined here, with Kukurihime-no-mikoto, the "goddess of tying," who is said to bind all things together, as the main deity.

The legacy of our predecessors

Many gods are enshrined in the shrine grounds, which are lush and cover an area of approximately 33,000 square meters (about the size of four soccer fields). In particular, Ashiosha Shrine, which enshrines Ashinazuchi no Kami, a god famous for protecting the legs and hips, has become a hot topic due to its eye-catching, modern shrine building.

In Nisshin City, there is a road called Iidaura Kaido, where there was a shrine dedicated to Ashinazuchi no Kami. It is said that merchants and travelers would pray there for safe travels. As time passed, the number of people on the road decreased, and it is said that the shrine was enshrined at Hakusan Shrine around the time of the end of the war. "The previous head priest prayed for the god's blessings on as many people as possible," said Kato Tomofumi, the chief priest.

Carrying on the wishes of its predecessors, the prototype of Ashiosha Shrine was created in 1996 (Heisei 8) as part of a project to make the grounds barrier-free so that wheelchair users could also worship. In 2016 (Heisei 28), the current modern shrine building was completed with the hope that young people would also visit.

In 2002, the year of the FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, the shrine began offering amulets and votive plaques with the Japanese national soccer team emblem woven into them as foot protection, which led to many supporters visiting the shrine, and it became widely known as a "soccer shrine." Today, the shrine is visited by many people who are passionate about sports, including professional athletes.

Attention to detail in the design of "Ashiousha"

In the design of Ashiosha Shrine, the main axis of the shrine is from north to south, but the path that worshippers take is not linear, but rather circular and diverse. The shrine is made by combining thin trees, and the light that shines through the gaps in the trees and the breeze that blows through naturally lead worshippers to pray.

Behind the deity is the "Hora no Odo", a path enveloped in the soft curves of light and trees. Worshippers can walk along this path and touch the pain relief stones before setting off on their journey home, feeling a sense of oneness with the forest. This shrine building is a space that expresses the experience of feeling close to the gods, interacting with them, and beginning to walk again, rather than worshiping them from afar. "After it was completed, we discovered that by chance, when viewed from above, the shrine building resembles the shape of straw sandals," said Kato, the chief priest.

A place that is open to many people

As if guided by the gods, through a series of coincidences and unintended developments, Hakusan Shrine has become a place visited by many people, not only from the local area but also from all over the country. Hakusan Shrine, where Ashiosha Shrine is located, has inherited the spirit of its predecessors and is a shrine that is open to many people, and will continue to be a place that is loved and provides healing to many people.

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Shrine name: Hakusan Shrine

Address: 519 Miyashita, Hongo-cho, Nisshin City, 470-0121

access:

◎ Transfer to Meitetsu Bus at Akaike Station on the Tsurumai Subway Line, get off at Hakusan bus stop, then walk for about 2 minutes

◎ Transfer to the Meitetsu bus at Hoshigaoka Station on the Higashiyama Subway Line, get off at Iwasaki Ontakeguchi, then walk for about 10 minutes or take a taxi for about 15 minutes

◎ Approximately 25 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by taxi from Nisshin Station on the Meitetsu Toyota Line

HP: https://www.hakusangu.org/

*For details, please check the link above.