Ōmiwa Shrine, Shinto shrine in Sakurai, Japan
Ōmiwa Shrine is a religious site in Sakurai, Japan, that sits at the foot of a forested mountain without the usual main hall found in other temples. The complex consists of a worship hall, torii gates, and subsidiary shrines arranged along stone paths through cedar groves.
The site traces its roots to the earliest centuries of Japanese civilization, when rulers honored the mountain as a seat of divine power. During the Heian era, the compound received special rank after the imperial court decreed that important state matters be reported to the resident kami.
The shrine is the tutelary shrine of Japanese sake brewers. Each year on 14 November, a Brewing Safety Prayer Festival is held, and new cedar balls (sugidama) are hung on the worship hall and prayer hall; this custom later spread to sake breweries across Japan. The shrine's name is written with the characters for "three" and "ring", and Borromean-ring ornaments appear on its buildings.
A short walk from Miwa Station through a residential area leads directly to the entrance, with access free and available during daylight hours. The main paved paths are relatively flat, though some side trails may have steep or uneven sections.
The mitsu-torii behind the worship hall is a myōjin torii flanked by two smaller side gates, giving four pillars in all; it was rebuilt in 1883 and is an Important Cultural Property. It marks the boundary before the forbidden ground leading to the Hetsu Iwakura rock.
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