Fujishiro Ōji Shrine, Shinto shrine in Fujishiro, Kainan, Japan
Fujishiro Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Fujishiro, Kainan, entered through a stone torii with a wooden plaque reading 藤白神社. Its single-story worship hall has a dark tiled nagare-zukuri roof sloping over the front, dark wooden walls, a central doorway hung with a purple curtain, and a pale wooden offering box at the base.
Tradition dates its founding to the reign of Emperor Keikō, and its main deity is Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto, served for generations by the Fujishiro Suzuki family, who take the surname Suzuki as their origin. As Fujishiro-ōji it was one of the five Gotai-ōji of the Kumano pilgrimage and counted as Kumano's first torii. It lost its buildings and lands in the wars of the Sengoku period; the main hall was rebuilt in 1663 by order of Tokugawa Yorinori, and the shrine was ranked a prefectural shrine in 1939.
The Suzuki surname is said to originate here, where the Fujishiro Suzuki family served as hereditary priests. The shrine's lion dance, designated a prefectural intangible folk cultural property in 1966, is first performed at New Year's Eve bell and again in the streets on 15 October. The Arima Prince Festival is held on 11 November.
The shrine is about a 20-minute walk from JR Kainan Station on the Kisei Main Line. The old Kumano pilgrimage route runs through the east gate and out to the west, while the front approach on the north side connects to the early modern Kumano highway. The Suzuki residence and garden are open to the public since April 1, 2023.
The grounds and the Suzuki residence site are a nationally designated Historic Site forming part of the Kumano Kodo Kii Route. The Suzuki family served as hereditary priests here, and the shrine is regarded as the birthplace of the Suzuki surname. The residence garden, a Muromachi-period pond-strolling garden, reopened to the public on 1 April 2023 after restoration.
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