Mekari Shrine

In the Mekari district of Moji Ward, facing the Kanmon Strait, Mekari Shrine has its halls turned toward the sea. It stands at the foot of the Kanmon Bridge, and from the grounds you can see ships passing through the strait and the bridge itself. It is known as the northernmost shrine on Kyushu and is also called Hayato-sha. It was formerly ranked as a prefectural shrine.

The enshrined deity is Tsukisakaki Itsu no Mitama Amasakaru Mukatsuhime no Mikoto, said to be the rough spirit (aramitama) of Amaterasu and a god who governs the ebb and flow of the tides; she is also called Seoritsuhime. According to shrine tradition, Empress Jingu founded the shrine in the ninth year of Emperor Chuai (AD 200), after her campaign against the three Korean kingdoms. Warrior families revered it: Ashikaga Takauji built the sanctuary in 1336, and Ouchi Yoshihiro donated shrine lands in the Shitoku era (1384-1387). In the Edo period Hosokawa Tadaoki donated lands in 1620, the Hosokawa family built the worship hall and several other buildings in 1628, and the Mori family donated lands in the Genroku era (1688-1704). The present shrine buildings were rebuilt in 1767 by Ogasawara Tadafusa, lord of Kokura.

The highlight is the Mekari Shinji, held in the early morning of the lunar New Year's Day. It comes from the story that Empress Jingu, to celebrate her triumphant return, acted as chief priest herself and offered wakame from the Hayatomo strait to the gods. A record survives that wakame from this ritual was presented to the court in 710. After a Yudate Kagura dance is offered, three priests wade into the sea at low tide carrying torches and sickles, cut the wakame and offer it before the shrine, praying for safe sea voyages and good catches. People once said that anyone who watched would go blind, but since the war it has been open to view, and it is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Fukuoka Prefecture.

The grounds keep stone lanterns donated by Hosokawa Tadaoki and by the Ogasawara family, as well as a lantern standing in the sea that the So clan of Tsushima is said to have donated to pray for safe voyages. A stone monument carries a verse composed in 1480 by the linked-verse poet Iio Sogi, a literary monument honors Matsumoto Seicho's novel Jikan no Shuzoku, which uses the Mekari Shinji in its story, and there is also a monument to a haiku by Takahama Kyoshi, so you can follow a literary trail as well.

From JR Mojiko Station, take a Nishitetsu bus bound for Mekari and get off at Mekari Jinja-mae, about 14 minutes away; the stop is right next to the shrine, near the Moji-side pedestrian entrance of the Kanmon Road Tunnel. There is parking for about 50 cars. Mekari Park, Kaso Hachimangu Shrine and the Kanmon Tunnel pedestrian walkway are nearby, so the shrine is easy to combine with a walk enjoying the views of the Kanmon Strait.