Kōka Shrine, Shinto shrine in Japan

Kōka Shrine is a small Shinto sanctuary in Gifu Prefecture built from simple wooden structures with traditional sloped roofs. The grounds are crossed by stone-paved paths lined with stone lanterns and wooden prayer boards where visitors have written their wishes.

According to shrine tradition, Kōka Shrine was founded in the Nara period, in the Yōrō era, and its name derives from a legend in which twenty-one deities enshrined at the foot of the mountain drove away a light-emitting monster. In the Tenryaku era of the Heian period, Fujiwara no Takamitsu is said to have rebuilt the shrine and founded six affiliated shrines around Mount Kōka. The shrine burned down in 1517 and was rebuilt during the Edo period; in 1869 the Buddhist temple Rengebuji on its grounds was abolished under the separation of Shinto and Buddhism.

The shrine is a place where visitors can experience Shinto traditions directly. People come here to leave offerings, ring small bells, and take time for personal prayer, shaping the daily rhythm of this community.

The shrine is easiest to visit in early morning or evening when the area is quiet and less crowded. The grounds are easy to explore on foot, with the surroundings at the base of Mount Koga offering fresh mountain air.

The well beside the approach path, dug in 1996, yields the "Fukube no reisui" spring water; bottled as "Kōka no Morimizu", it was the water handed to Naoko Takahashi at a refreshment station during her gold-medal women's marathon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.