Shirako-jinja, Shinto shrine in Japan

Shirako-jinja is a small Shinto shrine built in the Shinmei-zukuri style with traditional wooden structures and a thatched roof. Clean lines and simple design are complemented by stone lanterns lining the path, creating a space defined by careful craftsmanship and natural materials.

The shrine's founding is dated to 1048, when the kami Onamuchi-no-mikoto was invited from Yato and enshrined. In 1126 a white snake was seen coiled on a white turtle offshore and was taken as a kami; in 1147 the shrine was moved to its present site at Nabakidai in Seki. It served as guardian shrine of the twelve Nabaki villages, received the rank of sho-ichi-i and the name Shirako Daimyojin in 1708, and was renamed Shirako-jinja after the Meiji Restoration.

The shrine keeps a white snake as a sacred animal, based on the 1126 legend of a white snake coiled on a white turtle offshore. The spring festival features a rare indoor rice-planting ritual, the Otaue-sai, performed by priests, planters, and singers; it is a Shirako Town intangible folk cultural property.

The shrine is an 8-minute walk from the Shirako Chuo Kominkan-mae bus stop, served by Kominato Railway buses from JR Sotobo Line Honno Station. The main hall, rebuilt in 1762, stands on the precinct grounds, with the sacred grove designated a natural monument. Visitors can combine a stop here with the nearby coast.

The white snake that villagers saw coiled on a white turtle offshore in 1126 is still honoured here: the shrine keeps the creature as its sacred animal, and the story explains why the site moved to Nabakidai in 1147 after illness and disasters struck Shirako.