Ube Shrine

Ube Shrine stands at the foot of a hill where Takenouchi no Sukune, said to have lived over 360 years, is believed to have vanished leaving a pair of sandals. It is the Ichinomiya of Inaba Province in Kokufu, Tottori, and the only Myojin Taisha listed for Inaba in the Engishiki.

Tradition dates its founding to 648. The buildings burned in 1581 during the siege of Tottori Castle and were restored in 1633 with support from the lord Ikeda Mitsunaka. The present main hall, rebuilt in 1898, is in nagare-zukuri style with a cypress-bark roof. Behind it, on Kamegane-yama, stand the Soori-ishi stones, and below them lies a burial mound about 14 meters across, thought to date from the early 5th century.

The spring festival on April 21 features the kirin-shishi lion dance, and in the Miyuki-sai procession on the weekend nearest April 21 a large portable shrine is carried out. In 1899 the worship hall appeared on the 5-yen note together with an image of the deity, a first for a shrine. About 500 m south are the ruins of the Inaba provincial office. From JR Tottori Station, take a Hinomaru bus to Miyashita and walk about 5 minutes.