Kagami Shrine, Shinto shrine in Japan

Kagami Shrine is a Shinto shrine at the base of Mount Kagami in Karatsu, within Genkai Quasi-National Park. It has two honden: the first enshrines Empress Jingū, the second Fujiwara no Hirotsugu. A small museum keeps artifacts including a Goryeo-dynasty Yōryū Kannon image from 1310, now deposited at the Saga Prefectural Museum.

According to shrine tradition, Empress Jingū prayed for victory on Mount Kagami and placed a mirror there; later, hearing it emitted a ghostly light, she enshrined her own spirit in it. In 750, ten years after Fujiwara no Hirotsugu was executed, Kibi no Makibi, exiled to Kyushu, founded the second sanctuary (Ni-no-miya) to appease Hirotsugu's vengeful spirit. A fire in 1770 destroyed the shrine buildings and sacred treasures. Kūkai is credited with renaming it Kagami-jinja.

The name Kagami means "mirror" and comes from the mirror Empress Jingū is said to have placed on Mount Kagami to pray for victory during the Korean campaign; when it shone with a ghostly light, she enshrined her own spirit in it. The shrine keeps traces of shinbutsu-shūgō, worshipping Yōryū Kannon and other deities alongside Shinto ones. Its autumn festival, Kagami-kunchi, is held around 9 October, with two pulled float floats.

Kagami Shrine stands at the foot of Mount Kagami, a 280-metre peak in Genkai Quasi-National Park, so the approach is a climb from the Karatsu side. The grounds hold two main halls, the first dedicated to Empress Jingū and the second to Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, plus a small museum of shrine artifacts. Look for the annual events: the spring festival around 9 April and the autumn Kagami-kunchi in October, when two floats are carried through the streets.

The shrine keeps a painted silk image of Yōryū Kannon from Korea's Goryeo dynasty, dated 1310 and now deposited at the Saga Prefectural Museum. Excavated items from a sutra mound on the grounds are designated city cultural properties, and a small museum on site preserves remaining artifacts.