Shirominegu Shrine, Shinto shrine in Sakaide, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan
Shirominegu Shrine stands in Sakaide, Kagawa Prefecture, on the site of the hall where Emperor Sutoku is said to have been confined. Its approach passes between the precincts of Tennō-ji Kōshō-in and through a three-legged torii (Mitsutorii) whose pillar inscription reads "Shūryoku gassō sō-ujiko-chū, Kyōhō 19 (1734)". The main gate is a large vermilion torii with a black-tiled curved roof, flanked by two smaller two-pillar torii, with white zigzag streamers and a gold-lettered plaque on the upper beam. A camphor tree about 500 years old, registered as a Kagawa preserved tree, grows in the grounds.
The shrine was founded following a legend about Emperor Sutoku, whose body was kept at a sacred water site after his death and surrounded by a mysterious light. This occurrence was seen as a divine sign, and Emperor Nijo ordered the shrine's construction to honor the emperor's spirit.
Locals call the shrine Akari-no-Miya, and it is the ninth of the fifteen venerated shrines of Sanuki. Its autumn festival, held on the first Sunday of October, brings five local taikodai float groups: Ejiri, Sho, Bekku, Daigo-Kita and the Hara lion float. Until the Meiji Restoration the shrine was known as Sutoku Tenno-sha, and the neighbouring temple was called Tennoji.
The shrine is 800 m south of JR Yosan Line's Yosoba Station, roughly a ten-minute walk; the approach runs between the precincts of Tennoji Koryuji, so the temple buildings flank the path to the shrine. The three-legged torii bears a "Sutoku Tenno" plaque dated 1734. The spring called Yososoba no Shimizu lies about 200 m behind the grounds, outside the shrine precinct.
The spring, Shimoyasuba no Shimizu, lies about 200 metres behind the shrine grounds, outside the precinct. According to the shrine's tradition, Emperor Sutoku's body was immersed in this water before cremation, and each night a divine light shone from the direction of his former palace.
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