Yamato Province Ichinomiya
Omiwa Jinja
大神神社
Omiwa Jinja is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Yamato Province, in present-day Nara. It has a car park (about 320 spaces), free. Opening hours end at 17:00 (charm counter; 16:30 from December to February). Without a car, the shrine's own website gives 2 routes from a station (on foot, by bus), one of them a walk of 5 min; the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on April 9 every year. We found 6 entries for the shrine in Japan’s national database of designated cultural properties. The nearest other ichinomiya is Hiraoka Jinja, 24 km to the north-west in a straight line.
Getting there
奈良県桜井市三輪 1422
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 三輪駅JR桜井線(万葉まほろば線)
- On foot, 5 min.
- From 桜井駅JR桜井線・近鉄大阪線
- By bus, about 20 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
JR桜井線(万葉まほろば線)三輪駅より…徒歩5分 JR桜井線・近鉄大阪線 桜井駅 北口２番乗り場より…シャトルバスで約20分
Taken from the shrine's own website (電車をご利用の方 | 大神神社, 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 320 spaces), free.
4か所。大鳥居北 約100台（徒歩約15分）／大鳥居南 約50台（同・車両制限あり）／一の鳥居 約150台（徒歩約10分）／二の鳥居 約20台（徒歩約1分・制限あり）。すべて無料。二の鳥居前は参道工事で利用不可の告知あり。大型・中型バイクは二の鳥居前に駐車不可
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 17:00 (charm counter; 16:30 from December to February).
The full note from the source, in Japanese:
9:00-17:00（12〜2月は 9:00-16:30）
Closing times of every ichinomiya, earliest first →
Combining it with the 3 other ichinomiya within 80 km? Work out an order that reaches each office before it closes →
History in brief
- Founding
- According to the Kojiki, Ōmononushi-no-Ōkami asked to be worshipped on Mt. Miwa so that the making of the land could be completed.
- History
- In the reign of Emperor Sujin, it was worshipped as the god of nation-building and guardian of the state.
- History
- In the medieval period, Miwa-ryū Shintō spread from the shrine temples Daigorin-ji and Byōdō-ji.
- History
- In the early modern period, the shogunate confirmed its estates and Mt. Miwa received special protection.
Summarised from the shrine's own website (ご由緒｜大神神社, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Omononushi-no-Okami 大物主大神 2 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
The shrine's website describes its deity as a god of the making of the land, worshipped for all kinds of industry — farming, manufacturing and trade — as well as protection from bad directions, healing, sake brewing, medicine, travel, seafaring and marriage.
Our English summary of the Japanese description. Spelling as given by the shrine's own website.
Goshuin (shrine seal)
- Available
- Yes
- Offering
- ¥500
Nationally designated cultural properties
- 大神神社三ツ鳥居
-
Important Cultural Property
木造三輪鳥居
designated 1953-11-14 · Meiji period - 大神神社拝殿
-
Important Cultural Property
桁行九間、梁間四間、一重、切妻造、向拝部 桁行一間、梁間三間、 入母屋造、妻入、正面軒唐破風付、檜皮葺
designated 1921-04-30 · mid-Edo period - 大神神社摂社大直禰子神社社殿
-
Important Cultural Property
桁行五間、梁間五間、一重、入母屋造、本瓦葺
designated 1901-08-02 · mid-Muromachi period - 周書〈巻第十九／〉
- Important Cultural Property
- 朱漆金銅装楯
- Important Cultural Property
- 大神神社境内
- Historic Site
Source: the national register. All of them together →
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
4月9日 春の大神祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 秋の大神祭
- 10月24日
- 繞道祭
- 1月1日
- 鎮花祭（薬まつり）
- 4月18日
- 三枝祭
- 6月17日
- 醸造安全祈願祭（酒まつり）
- 11月14日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Hiraoka Jinja, about 24 km to the north-west in a straight line, the ichinomiya of Kawachi Province. After that come Sumiyoshi Taisha (35 km west) and Otori Jinja (36 km 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 Yamato Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Yamato Province (Kinai)
- Prefecture
- Nara
- Engishiki (927)
- Myōjin Taisha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kanpei Taisha
Sources
- https://oomiwa.or.jp/access/parking/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://oomiwa.or.jp/juyohin/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://oomiwa.or.jp/jinja/gosaijin/ (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://oomiwa.or.jp/jinja/ (checked 2026-09-10)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.