The first shrine of every province
Before Japan had prefectures it had provinces, and each province had a first shrine — its ichinomiya. Most of them are still standing. Many are an hour from the nearest city, up a mountain road, at the end of a valley.
This site is built around getting you there.
- Shrines
- 120
- Historical provinces
- 75
- Provinces where the title is contested
- 26
- With coordinates
- 120
Start here
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What is an ichinomiya?
Why one shrine per province, who decided, and why nobody can agree on some of them.
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How to visit a shrine
What to do at the gate, at the water basin and in front of the hall. Two bows, two claps, one bow — and what that actually means.
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Getting there by car
The licence you need, why Japanese navigation systems ask for a phone number, and what to do when the road runs out.
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Goshuin: the shrine seal
The hand-written seal you can collect at each shrine, what it is for, and how not to give offence asking for one.
What makes this different
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Addresses stay in Japanese
Every shrine page shows the address in Japanese, ready to copy. Show it to a driver, or paste it into a rental car's navigation. A romanised address is useless at the moment you need it.
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We say when we don't know
For 26 provinces the ichinomiya was never settled. Rather than pick one, we list every claimant and say what each claim rests on — including “no source found”.
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Car parks, not just stations
Where we have it, the car park is mapped separately from the shrine itself — because navigation systems will send you to the hall, not to the entrance.
Being written
Location, access and historical rank are in place for every shrine. Deities, histories, opening hours and car parks are being added shrine by shrine, from each shrine's own sources.
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