Chokaizan Omonoimi Jinja (Warabioka Kuchinomiya)
鳥海山大物忌神社（蕨岡口之宮）
Chokaizan Omonoimi Jinja (Warabioka Kuchinomiya) is one of the shrine sites that together form the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Dewa Province, in present-day Yamagata. It has a car park (about 20 spaces); the sources we checked do not give a fee. Without a car, a local tourism body gives 1 route from a station; the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on May 3 every year. We found 5 entries for the shrine in Japan’s national database of designated cultural properties. The nearest other ichinomiya is Komagata Jinja, 104 km to the east in a straight line.
Getting there
山形県飽海郡遊佐町上蕨岡字松ヶ岡51
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
- From OpenStreetMap, as 鳥海山大物忌神社 蕨岡口之宮. Not checked on the ground
- Address
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By train and bus
- From 遊佐駅JR羽越本線
- By car, 10 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
JR 羽越本線「遊佐駅」から車で10分
Taken from a local tourism body (鳥海山大物忌神社｜遊佐鳥海観光協会, 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 (about 20 spaces); the sources we checked do not give a fee.
料金は確認できず
The note above is in Japanese; it usually records dates when the car park is closed, and the fee.
Shrine office hours
社務所は吹浦口之宮側にある（蕨岡側の受付時間は確認できず）
Closing times of every ichinomiya, earliest first →
Visiting the 2 ichinomiya in Yamagata 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 the 25th year of Emperor Kinmei's reign.
- Name
- In medieval times it was served by Buddhist monks as Chokaisan Daigongen; in 1870, with the separation of Shinto and Buddhism, it returned to the name Omonoimi Jinja.
- Name
- In 1881, the shrine buildings at Fukura and Warabioka came to be called the Kuchinomiya.
- History
- Warriors revered it: Hachiman Taro Yoshiie prayed for victory, and the Kamakura shogunate and Shonai domain lords repaired its buildings.
Summarised from the shrine's own website (御祭神｜鳥海山大物忌神社, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Omonoimi-no-Okami 大物忌大神 2 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
Yamagata Prefecture's tourism site gives the deity of the Warabioka shrine as Ōmonoimi-no-Ōkami (it does not list the Tsukiyama deity here, unlike at Fukura).
Our English summary of the Japanese description. Spelling as given by the prefectural shrine office or local authority.
Goshuin (shrine seal)
- Available
- Not confirmed
Nationally designated cultural properties
- 鳥海山大物忌神社文書
- Important Cultural Property
- 蕨岡延年
- Intangible Folk Cultural Property selected for recording (folk performing arts)
- 鳥海山大物忌神社蕨岡口ノ宮本殿
- Registered Tangible Cultural Property (religious building)
- 鳥海山大物忌神社蕨岡口ノ宮神楽殿
- Registered Tangible Cultural Property (religious building)
- 鳥海山大物忌神社蕨岡口ノ宮随神門
- Registered Tangible Cultural Property (religious building)
Source: the national register. All of them together →
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
5月3日 蕨岡口の宮例大祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 新嘗祭（蕨岡口の宮）
- 11月12日
- 古札焼納祭
- 12月31日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Komagata Jinja, about 104 km to the east in a straight line, the ichinomiya of Rikuchu Province. After that come Shiwahiko Shiogama Jinja (120 km south-east) and Isasumi Jinja (172 km south).
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 Dewa Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Dewa Province (Tōsandō)
- Prefecture
- Yamagata
Sources
- https://yamagatakanko.com/attractions/detail_1395.html (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://oomonoimijinja.verse.jp/gosaijin.html (checked 2026-09-10)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.