ABOUT
About this spot
Yoshino Mikumari Shrine stands on Mt. Yoshino in Yoshino Town, Nara Prefecture. Its main deity is Ame-no-Mikumari-no-Okami, who presides over the distribution of water, and other deities such as Ninigi-no-Mikoto and Tamayori-hime-no-Mikoto are also enshrined. The name "Mikumari" came to be pronounced "Mikomori", so the shrine is also called Komori Myojin and has long been worshipped for granting children and safe childbirth. In 2004 it was inscribed as a component of the UNESCO World Heritage site "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range". The date of its founding is unknown. The oldest record is an entry in the Shoku Nihongi for the year 698, which says that horses were offered to pray for rain. The shrine is said to have originally stood near the summit of Mt. Aonega-mine, deeper in the Yoshino mountains, and to have been moved to its present site around 806. At the Meiji-era separation of Shinto and Buddhism it became independent from Kinpusen-ji, with which it had been closely connected. The present buildings were rebuilt by Toyotomi Hideyori. A ridge-tag on the main hall gives the year 1605, although some sources say 1604. According to tradition, Toyotomi Hideyoshi prayed here for a child when he held a cherry-blossom viewing at Yoshino in 1594 and Hideyori was born afterwards, which led to the rebuilding. The highlight is the architecture, which shows the character of the Momoyama period. The main hall is a rare form that joins three sanctuaries in one building: a kasuga-zukuri sanctuary in the center and nagare-zukuri sanctuaries on each side, under a cypress-bark roof with three chidori-hafu gables on the front. The main hall, worship hall, offering hall, two-story gate and corridors are designated Important Cultural Properties. The wooden seated statue of Tamayori-hime-no-Mikoto, the object of worship, is a National Treasure but is not normally open to the public. Every year on April 3, the Otaue Shinji rice-planting ritual is held to pray for a good harvest. It is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Yoshino Town and is said to date from the Muromachi period. The shrine can be visited from 8:00 to 16:00 (until 17:00 in April only), and entry is free. From Kintetsu Yoshino Station, take the Yoshino Ropeway to Yoshinoyama Station and walk about 1 hour 30 minutes, or take a bus to Takagiyama Observation Deck and walk about 15 minutes. Allow time for the mountain walk. The shrine may be closed depending on snow conditions, so please check before going. The shrine has a deep connection with Kinpusen-ji on Mt. Yoshino and fits easily into a walk around the mountain. Stroll quietly through the grounds and enjoy the curved roofs and the halls surrounded by trees.
Last updated October 22, 2026