Iga Province Ichinomiya
Aekuni Jinja
敢國神社
Aekuni Jinja is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Iga Province, in present-day Mie. It has a car park; the sources we checked give neither its size nor a fee. Opening hours end at 16:00 (shrine office). Without a car, a local tourism body gives 1 route from a station (by taxi); the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on December 5 every year. The nearest other ichinomiya is Takebe Taisha, 31 km to the north-west in a straight line.
Getting there
三重県伊賀市一之宮877
The address is given in Japanese on purpose. Show it to a taxi driver, or copy it into a car navigation system — an English transliteration will not be recognised.
For a car navigation system
- Phone
- Japanese car navigation searches by phone number. This is the fastest way to enter a destination.
- Coordinates
- Derived from the address down to the street number, via Japan's national mapping agency. Not a survey of the hall itself
- Address
How to rent and drive a car in Japan →
Car hire Ad
Search rental cars on Tabirai (English)
Opens the English site of Tabirai, a Japanese car rental booking service. We have not compared its prices or cars. This is an affiliate link (A8.net): if you book, the site earns a commission at no extra cost to you.
By train and bus
- From 上野市駅伊賀鉄道
- By taxi, about 15 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
伊賀鉄道「上野市駅」からタクシーで約15分
Taken from a local tourism body (敢国神社 | 観光スポット | 観光三重, checked 2026-10-08). Station and stop names stay in Japanese so you can match them to signs. Fares and timetables are not given — they change.
Parking
It has a car park; the sources we checked give neither its size nor a fee.
三重県の観光公式サイト「観光三重」に「駐車場 有り」の記載があります。台数・料金・境内のどちら側かは、一次ソースで確認できませんでした。
The note above is in Japanese; it usually records dates when the car park is closed, and the fee.
Shrine office hours
Opening hours end at 16:00 (shrine office).
The full note from the source, in Japanese:
社務所 8:30-16:00／祈祷受付 9:00-15:00（最終受付14:30）
Closing times of every ichinomiya, earliest first →
Visiting the 5 ichinomiya in Mie in one day? Work out an order that reaches each office before it closes →
History in brief
- Founding
- According to the shrine's tradition, it was founded in 658, in the mid-7th century.
- History
- Records say the deity Kanayamahime-no-Mikoto of Mt. Nangū was enshrined in the main sanctuary in 977.
- History
- The court repaired the halls in the Enchō era; in the Nanbokuchō period Emperor Go-Murakami stayed for several days and increased its estates.
- History
- In the Edo period, the ruling Tōdō family repaired the buildings, donated land and revived its rituals.
Summarised from the shrine's own website (敢國神社について｜敢國神社, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Ohiko-no-Mikoto 大彦命 2 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Sukunahikona-no-Mikoto 少彦名命 also enshrined 5 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Kanayamahime-no-Mikoto 金山比咩命 also enshrined
Spelling as given by the shrine's own website.
Goshuin (shrine seal)
- Available
- Yes
- Hours
- 8:30-16:00
- Offering
- ¥500
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
12月5日 例祭（おんまつり）
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 神幸式
- 12月4日
- 春季大祭・獅子神楽舞上祭
- 4月17日
- 獅子神楽舞初祭
- 1月3日
- 黒党祭
- 11月23日
- 大石社祇園祭
- 7月第4日曜日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Takebe Taisha, about 31 km to the north-west in a straight line, the ichinomiya of Omi Province. After that come Tsubaki Okamiyashiro (33 km north-east) and Omiwa Jinja (40 km south-west).
Straight-line distances between the shrines, not road distances. Across mountains or water, the drive is much longer.
Why this shrine is called an ichinomiya
Listed by the pilgrimage association
It appears on the map published by the Ichinomiya Pilgrimage Association. We have not yet checked other primary sources.
- 全国一の宮巡拝会『全国一の宮神社所在地』（平成30年5月・改訂版 第4版） (checked 2026-09-09)
More on how the shrines of this province relate to one another is on the Iga Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Iga Province (Tōkaidō)
- Prefecture
- Mie
- Engishiki (927)
- Taisha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kokuhei Chūsha
Sources
- https://www.igaueno.net/ninjaroad/?p=50 (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.kankomie.or.jp/spot/2965 (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.kankomie.or.jp/event/7032 (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://aekuni.jp/shrine/ (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://aekuni.jp/ (checked 2026-09-24)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.