Yodohime Shrine, Shinto shrine in Saga Prefecture, Japan
Yodohime Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Saga Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, and holds the rank of ichinomiya, meaning it is the top-ranked shrine in the prefecture. The grounds are made up of several wooden buildings arranged along a stone path that leads from the main gate toward the inner sanctuary.
According to an excerpt from the Hizen no Kuni Fudoki, the deity Yodohime was enshrined here on the first day of the eleventh month of 564, during the reign of Emperor Kinmei. The shrine appears in the 927 Engishiki register, was recorded as ichinomiya of Hizen Province in 1162, and received the senior first rank in 1261. Its main hall burned in 1813 and was rebuilt by the Nabeshima family in 1816.
Yodohime is one of the rare shrines in Japan dedicated to a female water deity, which gives it a distinct character among regional sacred sites. Visitors can see ema, the small wooden plaques where people write personal wishes and hang them on wooden racks near the main hall.
The grounds are easy to walk through, with a flat stone path from the entrance that makes the main buildings accessible without difficulty. As with any active shrine, visitors should keep their voices low and avoid stepping into areas marked as restricted.
The shrine's name appears in the 927 Engishiki register as a Shikinaisha of Saga District, and its medieval documents include a 1091 petition, the oldest of 247 items designated an Important Cultural Property in 1980. The deity is not named in the Nihon Shoki; the founding is recorded in a fragment of the Hizen Fudoki as 564 CE.
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