Yaku Shrine, Shinto shrine in Japan

Yaku Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Miyanoura built in nagare-zukuri style, featuring a roof that extends gently on one side to shelter the structure. The wooden building sits on an elevated foundation with a main chamber and covered porch, accessed by a stone path through a torii gate, surrounded by trees.

First recorded in the 927 Engishiki as a shrine of Osumi Province, Yaku Shrine was the ichinomiya of Tane Province when Yakushima and Tanegashima formed that province in the 8th century. It fell into decay under the Hōjō-affiliated Tanegashima clan, and in 1685 Satsuma retainer Machida Magoshichi Tadamochi rebuilt the hall at its present site. The hall burned in a US air raid on 15 July 1945; part of the grounds and about 2,000 cedars were sold to fund the 1954 reconstruction.

The shrine's name was once read "Masukuhi" or "Sukuhi"; the current reading "Yaku" dates from later. Until the Meiji Restoration, eighteen villages on Yakushima each had a shrine bearing the village name, and today only this one in Miyanoura and the Haru shrine remain. In spring and autumn, groups climb the sacred peaks and bring back rhododendron branches, a custom now discouraged for conservation.

The shrine is located in Miyanoura village and is easily reached on foot, about 350 meters from the bus stop or a few minutes from Miyanoura-ohashi bridge. You can visit anytime, and it is good practice to rinse your hands at the water basin and bow before entering to show respect.

The shrine stands at the southernmost point of any shrine listed in the Engishiki, the 927 CE register of official shrines. Its name was once read "Masukuhi" or "Sukuhi"; one theory links "Sukui" to the miotsukushi markers erected on Yakushima in 735 to guide drifting Tang-dynasty envoys. Until the Meiji Restoration, 18 villages on the island kept branch shrines bearing their own names; today only the Hara Yaku Shrine remains besides this one.