Iwami Province Ichinomiya
Mononobe Jinja
物部神社
Mononobe Jinja is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Iwami Province, in present-day Shimane. It has a car park (about 100 spaces); the sources we checked do not give a fee. Opening hours end at 16:30 (charm counter). Without a car, the shrine's own website gives 2 routes from a station (by bus, by taxi); the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on October 9 every year. We found 1 entry for the shrine in Japan’s national database of designated cultural properties. The nearest other ichinomiya is Izumo Taisha, 31 km to the north-east in a straight line.
Getting there
島根県大田市川合町川合 1545
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 →
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By train and bus
- From 大田市駅JR山陰本線
- By bus.
- From 大田市駅JR山陰本線
- By taxi.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
JR山陰本線「大田市駅」下車。バス約20分、タクシー約10分。
Taken from the shrine's own website (物部神社 公式サイト, 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 100 spaces); the sources we checked do not give a fee.
境内2か所・計100台。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
Opening hours end at 16:30 (charm counter).
The full note from the source, in Japanese:
授与所 9:00-16:30（2026年7月31日から。それまでは17:00まで）／御祈祷 9:30-16:30
Closing times of every ichinomiya, earliest first →
Visiting the 3 ichinomiya in Shimane in one day? Work out an order that reaches each office before it closes →
History in brief
- Founding
- It is said to have begun when a branch of the Mononobe clan, moved here from Yamato to check the power of Izumo, enshrined its ancestral deity.
- History
- During the Warring States period, the shrine became a stage in the struggle for control of the Iwami silver mine.
Summarised from the shrine's own website (物部神社 公式サイト トップ, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Umashimaji-no-Mikoto 宇摩志麻遅命（可美真手命）
- Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto 饒速日命 shares the hall
- Futsunomitama-no-Kami 韴霊神 shares the hall
- Amenominakanushi-no-Kami 天御中主大神 shares the hall 2 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Amaterasu-Okami 天照大神 shares the hall 10 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Tamashizumeyahashira-no-Kami 鎮魂八神 shares the hall
- Kotoamatsu-Kami 別天神 shares the hall
Spelling as given by the shrine's own website.
Goshuin (shrine seal)
- Available
- Yes
Nationally designated cultural properties
- 太刀〈銘了戒／〉
- Important Cultural Property
Source: the national register. All of them together →
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
十月 九日 例大祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 鎮魂祭
- 十一月 二十四日
- 御田植祭
- 七月 二十日
- 勝運大祭
- 五月 一日
- 児守祭
- 五月 五日
- 馬場見式
- 十月 八日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Izumo Taisha, about 31 km to the north-east in a straight line, the ichinomiya of Izumo Province. After that come Kumano Taisha (55 km north-east) and Kibitsu Jinja (Bingo) (95 km south-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
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 Iwami Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Iwami Province (San'indō)
- Prefecture
- Shimane
- Engishiki (927)
- Myōjin Taisha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kokuhei Shōsha
Sources
- https://www.mononobe-jinja.jp/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.ginzan-wm.jp/purpose_post/mononobe/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.mononobe-jinja.jp/precincts/precincts_gosaijin (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://www.mononobe-jinja.jp/info/456 (checked 2026-10-29)
- https://www.mononobe-jinja.jp/prayer/ (checked 2026-10-29)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.