Kibitsuhiko Shrine, Shinto shrine in Kita-ku, Okayama, Japan
Kibitsuhiko Shrine is a Shinto sanctuary located in Kita-ku, a district of Okayama in Japan. The complex consists of several buildings arranged in a straight line, including the Zuijimon gate, the main hall, the Watadono, the Shigemuden, and the worship hall.
The shrine's origin is traditionally placed in the reign of Empress Suiko, though it first appears in records only in the late Heian period. In 939 Ani Shrine backed Fujiwara no Sumitomo's revolt and lost the Bizen ichinomiya title, which passed to Kibitsuhiko Shrine. The main hall was rebuilt in 1697 under Okayama lord Ikeda Tsunamasa, and a 1930 fire destroyed all but the main hall and Zuijimon gate.
The shrine is also called Asahi-no-miya, the Palace of the Morning Sun, because on the summer solstice sunlight from the front torii strikes a mirror in the Shigemuden hall. The annual Otaue-sai on 2–3 August, a rice-planting rite held since the Heian period and now a prefectural intangible folk property, includes a purification hoop at the Zuijimon gate and dances such as the Bizen Ichinomiya Ondo.
The visit is free, and parking spaces are available at no charge. From Bizen Ichinomiya Station, visitors reach the sanctuary in about five minutes on foot along a straightforward path.
The axis of the buildings follows the path of the sun during the summer solstice, allowing light to enter the hall at that time. This astronomical alignment connects the structure with the natural cycle of the year.
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