Meta Shrine, Shinto shrine in Nara Prefecture, Japan

Meta Shrine stands at the edge of the moated Hieda settlement in Yamatokōriyama. The single-story hall sits on a raised stone base reached by a short flight of stone steps. Four vermilion pillars divide its facade into three bays, above which a white-plastered frieze with exposed horizontal beams carries a broad dark grey hipped roof. Sacred rope with zigzag paper streamers hangs between the pillars, and a low vermilion railing spans the base.

The shrine is thought to have been founded by the Suiko period as an ancestral shrine of the Sarume-no-kimi Hieda clan, who claimed Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto as their ancestor. It is listed as a small shrine in the Engishiki shrine register. Until the Edo period it was called Sansha Myōjin; it became Jūsanja Myōjin in 1874, Meta Jinja in 1891, and took its present name in 1942.

The name derives from Sarume no Kimi, who received fields from the emperor called Sarume-da; dropping the character for "monkey" gave Meta. The shrine was called Sanja Myōjin until 1874, then Jūsanja Myōjin, and took its present name in 1942. The Arei Festival, begun in 1930 by children's author Kurushima Takehiko, honours Hieda no Are with Hieda dance and children's songs.

Meta Shrine stands at the edge of Hieda, a moated village in Yamatokōriyama; the shrine grounds are entered from the village side, and the worship hall is reached by a short flight of stone steps. The Hieda-no-Are festival, long held on 16 August, moved to 5 May from 2025 because of summer heat.

The shrine's name comes from the Sawarabi no kimi Hieda clan: fields granted by the emperor were called Sarumenota, and their owner Sarumenotanushi; dropping the character for "monkey" gave Metanushi, hence Meta Shrine. Until the Edo period it was called Sansha Myōjin, renamed Jūsanja Myōjin in 1874, Metajinja in 1891 and Meta Shrine in 1942.