Yahiko Shrine, Niigata | Japan is Nippon

The top shrine of old Echigo, fondly called Oyahiko-sama in Niigata. In its deep forest you pray with two bows, four claps and a bow, unlike most shrines.

Wooden torii gate framed by tall cedar trees on the approach to Yahiko Shrine in winter — Photo: Yamaguchi Yoshiaki from Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Hinotama-ishi fortune stones on a stone pedestal in the grounds of Yahiko Shrine — Photo: Saigen Jiro, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The highest-ranking shrine in Echigo

Yahiko Shrine is in the village of Yahiko, Niigata Prefecture, at the foot of 634 m Mount Yahiko. An ichinomiya was the shrine considered the highest-ranking in each of Japan's old provinces, and Yahiko Shrine is the ichinomiya of Echigo Province (most of today's Niigata Prefecture). Locals call it by the affectionate name Oyahiko-sama.

The deity enshrined here is Ame-no-Kagoyama-no-Mikoto, said to be a great-grandchild of the sun goddess Amaterasu. He is said to have opened up the land of Echigo and taught its people their trades. The shrine is said to have more than 2,400 years of history, and it appears in the Manyoshu, Japan's oldest collection of poetry.

The present buildings were rebuilt in 1916 (Taisho 5) after a fire in 1912 (Meiji 45) destroyed them.

What to see in the grounds

The 30 m great torii (shrine gate) near the shrine was built in 1982 to celebrate the opening of the Joetsu Shinkansen. The plaque hung on it is the size of 12 tatami mats.

The grounds are wrapped in a sacred forest. Tama-no-Hashi, a bridge along the approach, is said to be the bridge the god crosses.

In the grounds is a fortune-telling stone called Hinotamaishi, the "heavy-light stone". You picture your wish and lift it: if it feels light your wish will come true, and if it feels heavy it will not. A legend from the early Edo period says that when the lord of Hirosaki failed to keep his promise to donate a torii, two glowing balls appeared at his castle night after night, and they turned out to be this stone.

The inner shrine on the summit and annual events

On the summit of Mount Yahiko is the Goshinbyo, the okumiya (a separate inner shrine set further back from the main one). You can reach the summit by the Yahikoyama Ropeway or by car on the Yahikoyama Skyline, and look out over the Echigo Plain and the Sea of Japan.

Every year the Toro Oshi lantern festival is held on 25 July, and in November the grounds are decorated with chrysanthemums for the Chrysanthemum Festival.

Getting there

It is about 15 minutes on foot from Yahiko Station on the JR Yahiko Line. By car, it is about 25 minutes from the Sanjo-Tsubame Interchange on the Hokuriku Expressway. The ropeway's operating days and hours change with the season, so check the official website.

Tips

The way to pray here is "two bows, four claps, one bow". Most shrines use two bows, two claps and one bow, so remember to clap four times here.
When you try the Hinotamaishi, decide on your wish in your head before you lift the stone.
If you have time, take the ropeway to the top of Mount Yahiko and visit the inner shrine too. The ropeway sometimes has regular closing days in winter, so check the operating information before you go.