Suzume Shrine, Shinto shrine in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

Suzume Shrine in Koga consists of a worship hall and a copper-clad nagare-zukuri main hall built in 1605 by Matsudaira Yasunaga, with later changes including a copper re-roofing and a gabled porch. A wide stone-paved approach leads to the dark timber facade, where a purple curtain with white circular motifs hangs above a rope, flanked by two white paper lanterns and zigzag paper streamers. Two stone guardian animal statues stand on pedestals before the steps, and a low wooden veranda and railing wrap the front above a base of rounded rocks.

According to shrine tradition, it began as a "Shizume no Yashiro" founded by Toyosukiiri-hiko during the reign of Emperor Sujin; another tradition dates it to the Jōgan era (859–877), when a divided spirit of Izumo Taisha was enshrined. The Koga kubō of the Ashikaga line patronized it, and in 1457 Ashikaga Shigeuji prayed here for peace. The present hall was built in 1605 by Matsudaira Yasunaga and moved to this site when he enlarged Koga Castle; in 1953 river works shifted it about 50 m east.

The name Suzume derives from shizume, "pacification", and the shrine served as tutelary deity of the old Koga town, once the only gōsha in Sashima District. Its spring festival on 8 April features Iwato kagura performed at the kagura hall, while the summer festival on 1 August brings the Ado-shinden lion dance, called sasara, danced to drive away epidemics.

Suzume Shrine is at 4-52 Miyamae-machi, Koga, Ibaraki. From the west exit of JR Koga Station it is about a 19-minute walk (1.5 km); from the east exit of Tobu Shin-Koga Station, about 23 minutes (1.9 km). Free rental bicycles called "Kogattsu" are available for sightseeing in the city. A stairway from the grounds leads up to the Watarase River embankment.

The name "Suzume" is thought to derive from shizume, meaning "pacification," not from the bird. The shrine's sacred keyaki at the entrance is two zelkova trunks fused together, called the Meoto Keyaki, 25 m tall with an 8.8 m circumference; one trunk was lost to fire and is now encased in fibre-reinforced plastic.