Hello, I am Tomoya Watanabe （the University of Tsukuba/ College of international studies）.
This time, I write an article about the shrine in Yoshinuma area.
First, Yoshinuma Hachimangu is a relatively large shrine in the Yoshinuma area. Various large and small stone monuments were placed on the site. It's not a big building, but the architecture and the color scheme are excellent. It is also called “Kodakara” Shrine, and young couples also visit here.
Next, I will introduce Tonozaki Inari. Speaking of Inari, Fushimi Inari in Kyoto is famous, and Inari is originally a god of agriculture, and there are about 30,000 shrines related to Inari in Japan. A fox statue is often placed at Inari Shrine, which seems to be the god's messenger here. Another interesting point of this Tonozaki Shrine is that it is built in the middle of the rice field, indicating that the Japanese god was deeply connected to life and agriculture.
Inari Shrine, which was introduced earlier, was also a few minutes walk from Tonozaki Shrine. I think that Inari is an important god for Japanese people. And while the shrine itself is very small, there was a very large, straight pine tree next to it. I don't know this history, but it must have been overlooking this town since ancient times.
Next is Benzaiten. Benzaiten is a heavenly woman who saves poverty and gives her property, and is one of the Seven Lucky Gods. It is well known that Ebisu is the only god of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japan and the rest came from other countries. Benzaiten is derived from the Indian god. By the way, heaven has the meaning of "God" in Sanskrit.
Finally, we will introduce Suwa Hachiman Shrine. As the photo shows, the torii of this shrine stands in the city. There was a shrine ahead, but it was very small. I think that religious facilities that cannot be entered are rare even in the world. There are many shrines named Yasaka all over Japan, but the center is located in Gion, Kyoto.
Above, I introduced the shrine of Yoshinuma. Shrines have long been involved in people's lives since ancient times in Japan, and cannot be separated from the Japanese identity. Japanese shrines also appear in famous movies such as Studio Ghibli and your name.