Omura Shrine

Omura Shrine is an old shrine in Hidaka Village, Kochi Prefecture, dedicated to Kunitokotachi no Mikoto and long regarded as the second shrine of Tosa Province. It stands about 200 m north of Omura Jinja-mae Station on the JR Dosan Line, among cedar trees in a quiet valley. According to shrine tradition it was founded in 587. The present buildings date from 1705, with a main hall connected to a hall of offerings and a worship hall in a cross-shaped layout called the Detombo style. Behind the main hall stands the Tomyo cedar, said to be about 1,000 years old and designated a natural monument of Hidaka. The shrine's best-known treasure is a gilt-bronze ring-pommel sword from the first half of the 7th century, a National Treasure that is usually not on view and is shown only during the autumn festival on November 15. Two Heian-period wooden bodhisattva masks are Important Cultural Properties. Nearby are the Niyodo River and the Ino paper museum.