Tsuno Shrine

Tsuno Shrine, regarded as the ichinomiya (first shrine) of Hyuga Province, stands in Kawakita, Tsuno Town, in eastern Miyazaki. Locals call it "Ichinomiya Shrine"; before the Meiji era it was also known as Miyazaki-sha. Its deity is Onamuchi no Mikoto, regarded as the same god as Okuninushi, and old texts say he helped cure smallpox and keep insects from the fields.

Shrine tradition says Emperor Jimmu enshrined the god before setting out on his eastern campaign, while another tale credits Empress Jingu with building the halls after her Korean campaign. Prehistoric sites and burial mounds nearby show people lived here from early times. It entered the official shrine ranks in 837 and is listed in the Engishiki.

In 1549 Ito Yoshisuke rebuilt the halls, but fighting between the Otomo and Shimazu in 1578 burned most buildings and treasures. Akizuki Tanemasa, lord of Takanabe, revived the shrine in 1692 and gave it a 20-koku endowment in 1701; later lords kept up the buildings. It became a national shrine of the lower rank in 1871.

The present main hall and worship hall were rebuilt in 2007. The main hall is a copper-roofed nagare-zukuri structure with chigi and katsuogi, and the hall has hip-and-gable roof with a karahafu porch. The old main hall now serves as the Kumano sub-shrine and the old hall as the kagura hall. A camphor tree in the grounds, the "Tsuno Shrine Camphor," is a town natural monument. Shrines to Susanoo and to Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi stand nearby, and the inner shrine, Taki Shrine, which enshrines Fudo Falls flowing behind its hall, lies about 1 km northeast.

The summer festival on 1-2 August has a "Hamakudari" procession to the beach with kagura, then the "Miyaire" the next evening. The highlight is the "Kenka Daiko", in which four drum floats collide in front of the shrine. In winter, kagura is performed overnight on 4 December before the grand festival on the 5th.

It is about 20 minutes' walk or 5 minutes by car from Tsuno Station, and about 3 km from Tsuno IC. A visit takes 30 to 60 minutes. Nearby are the Tsuno burial mounds, and the roadside station Michi-no-Eki Tsuno is in town.