Yodo-jinja, Shinto shrine in Japan
Yodo-jinja stands on the site of the honmaru, the inner bailey of Yodo Castle, in Yodo-honmachi, Fushimi-ku. Its worship hall (haiden) was rebuilt in 1607 under Toyotomi Hideyori with Katagiri Katsumoto as magistrate, and its present main hall (honden), in the three-bay nagare-zukuri style, dates from 1980. The shrine is dedicated to Toyotama-hime-no-mikoto, also called Yodo-hime-no-mikoto, Takami-musubi-no-kami and Hayaakitsu-hime-no-mikoto.
According to shrine tradition, the monk Chikan in the Ōwa era (961–964) invited the Yodo Myōjin deity from the Yodohime Shrine in Hizen Province and founded the shrine in Otokuni District, Yamashiro Province. The Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku records a junior fifth rank deity title in 859, and the Engishiki of 927 lists it, so it predates that tradition. In 1607 Toyotomi Hideyori had Katagiri Katsumoto rebuild the honden and haiden; the shrine was moved to the site of Yodo Castle's honmaru in 1902.
The shrine's name derives from Toyotama-hime, also called Yodohime-no-mikoto, sister of Empress Jingu. It was long known as Yodohime-sha or Mizutare-sha and served as guardian of boat transport on the Katsura River. The autumn festival runs from October 30 to November 3, with a portable shrine procession and rites in the main hall.
The shrine stands on the former honmaru of Yodo Castle, about a three-minute walk from Yodo Station on the Keihan Main Line. The Keihan line runs along the west side of the grounds, so trains pass close by. The main hall faces the precinct from behind the worship hall rebuilt in 1607.
The shrine stands on the honmaru, the main enclosure of Yodo Castle, and was moved here on 21 June 1902 when the Katsura River riverbed was widened; the former site now serves as the shrine's otabisho. Its honden, a five-bay nagare-zukuri building designated an Important Cultural Property in 1971, burned down on 5 August 1975 when a middle-school student's fireworks set the cypress-bark roof alight, and was rebuilt on 23 March 1980 in a three-bay form.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,440 contributors worldwide.