Bizen Province Ichinomiya
Isonokamifutsumitama Jinja
石上布都魂神社
Isonokamifutsumitama Jinja is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Bizen Province, in present-day Okayama. 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 (by taxi); the station names are listed below. The nearest other ichinomiya is Kibitsuhiko Jinja, 22 km to the south-west in a straight line.
Getting there
岡山県赤磐市石上 1448
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.
Before you drive here
There is a notice about reaching this shrine by car — it may concern road closures at New Year, vehicle size limits, which way you can turn into the car park, or satellite navigation giving the wrong place. The Japanese text reads:
岡山県の公式観光サイトの現地記事は、神社へ向かう道について「農道のような道は、どんどん狭くなっていきます。」と書いています。道幅が狭いので大きな車は注意してください。
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 石上布都魂神社. Not checked on the ground
- Address
How to rent and drive a car in Japan →
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By train and bus
- From 建部駅JR
- By taxi.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
JR建部駅からタクシー約20分
Taken from a local tourism body (岡山観光WEB「石上布都魂神社」, 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.
This routes you to the car park, not to the hall. From this car park to the hall is about 290 m in a straight line (the walk is longer).
岡山県神社庁は駐車場「有 20台」、岡山県の公式観光サイト「岡山観光WEB」も「駐車場 20台」と記載しています。同サイトの現地記事によると駐車場は「1～4まである」番号付きで、座標は名前が確認できた第四駐車場のものです。料金の記載はありません。
The note above is in Japanese; it usually records dates when the car park is closed, and the fee.
Visiting the 5 ichinomiya in Okayama in one day? Work out an order that reaches each office before it closes →
History in brief
- History
- The shrine cites a variant account in the Nihon Shoki saying the sword that slew the great serpent is now at Isonokami.
- Moved
- It is said the sword was later moved to Yamabe District in Yamato under Emperor Sujin, but the shrine says it was not abolished.
- Buildings
- In Kanbun 9, Ikeda Tsunamasa, lord of Bizen, rebuilt the small shrine at the sacred rock on the summit.
- Moved
- After the summit shrine burned in Meiji 43, it was moved to its present site.
Summarised from the prefectural shrine association (岡山県神社庁 石上布都魂神社, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Susano-no-Mikoto 素盞嗚尊 4 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
The prefectural shrine association says the sword with which Susanoo cut down the great serpent is kept at this shrine.
Our English summary of the Japanese description. Spelling as given by the prefectural shrine office or local authority.
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
１０月２０日に近い日曜日 例祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 崇敬者大会
- ５月３日
- 祈年祭
- ４月１５日に近い日曜日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Kibitsuhiko Jinja, about 22 km to the south-west in a straight line, in the same province. After that come Kibitsu Jinja (23 km south-west) and Nakayama Jinja (28 km north).
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
Documented by a public source
A public body — the city, the prefecture, or the prefectural shrine office — describes this shrine as the ichinomiya of its province.
Listed on the map published by the Ichinomiya Pilgrimage Association.
The Okayama Prefecture Shrine Agency calls it “an old shrine recorded in the Engishiki Jinmyōchō” and says that it “is known as the ichinomiya of Bizen”. Its old shrine rank, however, was gōsha, and it is not included in the “Bizen Province Sōsha shrine register (the nine shrines of special standing)” of the Bizen Province Sōsha-gū.
- https://www.okayama-jinjacho.or.jp/search/17559/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.soujagu.jp/備前国総社宮について/備前国総社神名帳１/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- 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 Bizen Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Bizen Province (San'yōdō)
- Prefecture
- Okayama
- Engishiki (927)
- Shōsha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kensha
Sources
- https://www.okayama-jinjacho.or.jp/search/17559/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.soujagu.jp/備前国総社宮について/備前国総社神名帳１/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_11233.html (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/11233 (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/okatabi/905/page (checked 2026-09-10)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.