Akagi Shrine, A shrine in Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture.
Akagi Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Nagareyama, Japan, built in the nagare-zukuri style, which is known for a gently curved roof that extends forward beyond the front wall. The building stands on a small hill, surrounded by trees, with thick wooden pillars and simple wooden construction throughout.
The shrine's origin is tied to a legend that a piece of Mount Akagi in Gunma Prefecture was carried downstream by a flood and came to rest here, forming the hill on which the shrine stands; some say a talisman from Akagi Shrine washed ashore and was enshrined by villagers. This link made the shrine a branch of the Akagi Shrine on Mount Akagi, and the place name Nagareyama is said to derive from it. One account dates its founding to the Kamakura period. Its former rank was gōsha, a district shrine.
The shrine is known for an annual event held each October, when people from the area gather to weave a large shimenawa rope together. The act of weaving is itself part of the ritual, turning a craft into a shared ceremony that the whole community takes part in.
The shrine stands on a small hill about 15 metres high on the east bank of the Edogawa, reached on foot from Ryūtetsu Nagareyama Station or Heiwadai Station, each about seven minutes away. The address is 6-649 Nagareyama, Nagareyama, Chiba.
The great rope is made by parishioners starting from the straw-beating stage, and it is completed before the autumn festival. It measures about 10 m long and weighs about 500 kg. The custom is registered as an intangible folk cultural property of Nagareyama City.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,564 contributors worldwide.