Echigo Province Ichinomiya
Kota Jinja
居多神社
Kota Jinja is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Echigo Province, in present-day Niigata. It has a car park (about 30 spaces), free. Without a car, a local tourism body gives 1 route from a station (on foot), one of them a walk of 25 min; the station names are listed below. The nearest other ichinomiya is Amatsu Jinja, 35 km to the south-west in a straight line.
Getting there
新潟県上越市五智 6-1-11
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
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By train and bus
- From 直江津駅トキ鉄・妙高はねうまライン
- On foot, 25 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
トキ鉄・妙高はねうまライン「直江津駅」より徒歩25分／頸城バス「国分寺裏門」下車すぐ
Taken from a local tourism body (居多神社｜上越観光Navi, 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 30 spaces), free.
This routes you to the car park, not to the hall. The location is taken from OpenStreetMap and has not been checked on the ground.
Visiting the 3 ichinomiya in Niigata in one day? Work out an order that reaches each office before it closes →
History in brief
- History
- In 1351, Uesugi Noriaki, the first shugo of Echigo, issued a letter of donation to the shrine.
- History
- A prayer by deputy governor Nagao Tamekage survives, promising to build a shrine hall once the rebellion was put down.
- History
- In the 15th century its lands were spread over Kubiki and five other districts.
- History
- Shinran is said to have visited this shrine first when he landed in Echigo.
Summarised from the local authority (居多神社文書 - 上越市ホームページ, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Onamuchi-no-Mikoto 大国主命 17 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Nunakawahime 奴奈川姫
- Takeminakata-no-Mikoto 建御名方命 6 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
Jōetsu City's tourism site says the shrine enshrines Ōkuninushi, Nunakawahime and Takeminakata, and is also called the ichinomiya of Echigo.
Our English summary of the Japanese description. Spelling as given by the prefectural shrine office or local authority.
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Amatsu Jinja, about 35 km to the south-west in a straight line, in the same province. After that come Watatsu Jinja (78 km north) and Yahiko Jinja (80 km north-east).
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 city of Jōetsu says, in its explanation of the city-designated cultural property “the Kota Jinja documents”, that “Kota Jinja has drawn worship since ancient times, as a shrine listed in the Engishiki and as the ichinomiya of Echigo Province”. Thirty-four medieval documents that support this survive, among them a deed of donation by Uesugi Noriaki of 1351 (Kannō 2).
- https://www.city.joetsu.niigata.jp/site/cultural-property/cultural-property-city006.html (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 Echigo Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Echigo Province (Hokurikudō)
- Prefecture
- Niigata
- Engishiki (927)
- Shōsha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kensha
Sources
- https://www.city.joetsu.niigata.jp/site/cultural-property/cultural-property-city006.html (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://joetsukankonavi.jp/spot/detail.php?id=166 (checked 2026-09-09)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.