Yamatsumi-jinja, Iitate, Shinto shrine in Japan
Yamatsumi-jinja is a small Shinto shrine in rural Iitate dedicated to the mountain god and his wolf messengers. The wooden main building sits in traditional style, surrounded by stone wolf statues that locals believe protect the sacred space.
Founded over 1,000 years ago during Japan's Heian period, the shrine has long honored the mountain god. A fire in 2013 destroyed the main building and its precious wolf imagery, but art students from Tokyo helped restore approximately 100 recreated paintings that now appear there again.
The shrine honors the mountain god and his wolf messengers, symbols deeply rooted in village beliefs. Local residents regularly visit to pray and leave offerings, showing how spiritual practice remains woven into daily life here.
The shrine has a parking lot and restroom facilities for visitors. It is open most of the year from early morning until late afternoon, though it closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for maintenance.
The shrine's ceiling was once covered with paintings of the wolf deity, a highly unusual focus compared to most Japanese shrines. After fire destroyed these precious works, Tokyo art students painstakingly recreated the lost images using old photographs as reference.
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