Ōta-jinja, shrine in Toyama, Toyama

Ōta-jinja is a Shinto shrine in Toyama that enshrines Sugawara no Michizane and three lords of the Toyama domain: Maeda Toshitsune, Toshimasa and Toshiharu. Its grounds include an ema hall with a statue of a sacred cow, and a stone monument to Lord Toshimasa made from a bell he had cast, half-melted in the great fire of 1899.

Founded in 1263 as Jōzen-ji, a temple enshrining a statue of Sugawara no Michizane, the site gained a Tenmangū in 1665 when the Kitano deity was invited there. The Maeda lords of Toyama, who claimed descent from Michizane, made it their prayer site. It moved to its present location in 1708 and was renamed Ōta-jinja in 1873.

Known as Toyama's Tenjin, the shrine honours Sugawara no Michizane and three Maeda lords of Toyama Domain: founder Toshitsugu, second lord Masanao and tenth lord Toshiyasu. The Maeda claimed descent from Michizane and made the shrine their prayer site. The usokae bird-exchange rite, held at Tenjin shrines, returned here in May 2018 after 13 years.

The shrine stands in Toyama's Yanaicho district, in the same spot it was moved to in 1708. Look for the ema hall at the centre of the grounds, where a statue of a sacred cow is rubbed by visitors praying to pass examinations. The hall also holds the Masanao-ko Tokuhihi, a monument made from a bell cast on the orders of the second Toyama lord Masanao, half-melted in the great fire of 1899.

In the ema hall stands a statue of a sacred cow; stroking it while praying is said to grant success in examinations. The shrine also holds the Shōsuke-kō Tokuhi, a monument made from a bell cast by the second Toyama daimyō, Maeda Masatoshi, once used as a time bell at Toyama Castle.