Awaga Shrine, Shinto shrine in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan

Awaga Shrine stands behind a low stone wall and dark wooden fence in Asago. Its broad dark-grey roof has a steep gabled section facing forward and a lower eave sweeping right, with small round gold ornaments along the edges; beneath the deep eaves the facade is dark wood with vertical posts and panels. A tall grey stone marker with a rounded top stands in front of the fence. The main sanctuary, rebuilt in 1880, is a three-bay by two-bay nagare-zukuri hall.

According to the Awaga Daimyōjin Genki of 708, the shrine began in the reign of Emperor Suinin, when Ōhiko Hayao no Mikoto had the turbulent deity Amenomisari no Mikoto enshrined; his great-grandson received the surname Kanbe no Atai and was appointed Tajima no Kuni no Miyatsuko. It appears in the 927 Engishiki as a Myōjin Taisha. In 1468 its main sanctuary, offering hall and worship hall burned in the Ōnin war and were rebuilt around 1485; the present sanctuary dates from 1880.

The shrine's name is read Awaka in the Engishiki, and its crest is the "daki-myoga" (embracing myoga ginger). The annual cycle includes the Setsubun bean-throwing, the Kōjin-sai on 11 February, and the October 17 autumn festival, when children's mikoshi tour the parish and the "bottle crossing" rite is performed.

The grounds are best explored on foot, as the compact layout allows you to view the architecture from multiple angles. Visitors should wear appropriate clothing and be prepared for rain during certain seasons, which is common in this region.

The shrine's name is read Awaka in the ninth-century Engishiki, and the Heian-era Wamyōshō records the district as Awaka, so scholars such as the Shikinaisha survey report take the original form to mean "shrine of the Awaka deity". A local tradition instead tells of a deer that emerged from a cave on Mount Awaga carrying three ears of millet and taught the villagers to farm.