五十嵐神社, Shinto shrine in Japan
Igarashi Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, built in the traditional nagare-zukuri style with an overhanging roof that extends over the entrance. The wooden structure sits on a quiet hill near the Igarashi River and has a simple, enduring appearance that reflects centuries of local devotion.
The shrine was established when the deity Ikarashi-no-Hikonomikoto supported the settlement and development of the region through farming and water management. During the medieval period, it held great importance under the Igarashi family as a clan shrine, but later declined until the Edo period when the lord of the Muramatsu domain restored it to prominence.
This shrine serves as a spiritual center for the local community, where visitors come to offer prayers for health, safe childbirth, and the protection of the land. The deity worshiped here is believed to have helped develop the region through farming and water management, making it a symbol of human cooperation with nature.
The shrine is about 40 minutes by car from the Sanjo-Tsubame highway exit, or you can take a bus from Higashi-Sanjo Station that takes about 20 minutes, then walk from a stop near a middle school. There is a small parking area with space for about 10 vehicles, and the surrounding grounds offer peaceful walks among trees and seasonal changes.
Near the shrine stands an ancient cedar tree called Sando-sugi, whose bark was traditionally brewed into tea to support women during difficult childbirths. Though a severe storm damaged the tree in 1961 and ended its status as a natural monument, the story of this healing tree remains alive in local tradition.
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