Shirahige Shrine, Lake Biwa
Interesting facts
- Because of its torii standing in the water, the shrine is nicknamed the Itsukushima of Omi, after the famous floating gate at Miyajima.
- A map of the Hira estate drawn in 1280 shows the torii on dry land; tradition holds that rising lake levels later left it standing in the water.
- Japanese historical references hold that the original deity was the god of Mount Hira, the range rising behind the shrine, rather than Sarutahiko.
- The shrine's first appearance in official history comes in 865, when the Hira deity was granted junior fourth court rank.
- The Noh play Shirahige, written by Kan'ami in the fourteenth century, is set at this shrine.
- An Edo-period stone lantern, donated by a Kyoto merchant, once stood on the shore and served as a lighthouse for boats on the lake.
- The main hall was built in 1603 by carpenters from Harima province, and four smaller precinct shrines date from the same rebuilding.
- The Murasaki Shikibu poem in the precinct was written in 996, when she passed along this shore with her father on his way to govern Echizen province.
- In 2015 the shrine became part of Japan Heritage as a component of Lake Biwa's water heritage of prayer and daily life.
- The shrine office, built in 1933 in the shoin style, is registered as a national tangible cultural property.
Why it is worth it
A vermilion torii standing in open water, its feet in the waves of Lake Biwa and its crossbeam framing the far shore, is one of the most memorable images in Japan. It belongs to Shirahige Shrine in Takashima, on the north-western shore of Japan's largest lake, and the effect is purest at sunrise, when the sun climbs out of the lake behind the gate, or on still evenings when the reflection doubles it.
The shrine is dedicated to the deity Sarutahiko and is visited for prayers for long life and good marriages. Tradition places its founding more than two thousand years ago, and it is regarded as the head shrine of some 150 Shirahige shrines across the country. Its festivals fall on 3 May and on 5–6 September.
The lake gate itself is younger than it looks. Legend spoke of a torii in the water, and in 1937 an Osaka pharmaceutical merchant, Konishi Kyūbei, paid for one to be built; the present gate dates from 1981. It stands about 58 metres offshore and rises around 10 metres above the surface, with some 8 metres between its pillars. The oldest building on land is the main hall, erected in 1603 with funds from Toyotomi Hideyori, carrying out the wish of his father Hideyoshi. It is a fine piece of Momoyama-period carpentry, three bays square, with a hip-and-gable roof of cypress bark, and it is designated an Important Cultural Property; the ridge tablet recording its construction was written by Katagiri Katsumoto.
Do not stop at the lakeside. A path climbs the wooded slope behind the main hall to the small Iwato shrine, set over a stone burial chamber with sacred rocks — iwakura — above it, a reminder that this was a holy place long before any building stood here. Among the stone monuments in the precinct are poems connected with Murasaki Shikibu and with Yosano Akiko and her husband Tekkan, who praised the clarity of the water here.
Getting there
The shrine stands on the lakeshore in Takashima, Shiga Prefecture, about 15 km from the centre of the city. The nearest airport is Osaka Itami International Airport (ITM), about 75 km away. The nearest railway station is JR Omi-Takashima, roughly 40 minutes on foot or five minutes by car.
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From the encyclopaedia
Shirahige Jinja (白鬚神社) is a Shinto shrine in Takashima in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is dedicated to Sarutahiko Okami. It is the head shrine of the Shirahige Shrines around the country. The shrine's annual festivals are on May 3 and September 5–6.
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