Mutsu Province Ichinomiya
Shiwahiko Shiogama Jinja
志波彦神社・鹽竈神社
Shiwahiko Shiogama Jinja is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Mutsu Province, in present-day Miyagi. It has a car park (about 300 spaces), free. Opening hours end at 16:30 (prayer-rite desk; 16:00 in February, August and November; 15:30 in December). Without a car, a local tourism body gives 1 route from a station (on foot); the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on July 10 every year. We found 2 entries for the shrine in Japan’s national database of designated cultural properties. The nearest other ichinomiya is Komagata Jinja, 92 km to the north in a straight line.
Getting there
宮城県塩竈市一森山 1-1
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:
駐車場へ向かう東参道は上り坂。境内案内図には「お祓いの車は参入可。（車祓所までお進み下さい。）」とあり、ご祈祷以外の車は境内へ乗り入れできない。
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 本塩釜駅JR仙石線
- On foot.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
JR仙石線「本塩釜」駅より／・表参道（表坂）の石鳥居まで徒歩約15分／・東参道（裏坂）の石鳥居まで徒歩約7分／・社務所前まで徒歩約15分
Taken from a local tourism body (志波彦神社・鹽竈神社｜東北観光推進機構, 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 300 spaces), free.
This routes you to the car park, not to the hall. From this car park to the hall is about 180 m in a straight line (the walk is longer).
参拝者専用の無料駐車場が境内の東側から北側にかけて4か所（第1・第2・第3・バス用）、合計300台。境内案内図では第1駐車場が東神門・車祓所の側にある。なお表参道下の臨時駐車場は公式の駐車場案内図に「御釜神社参拝者用です」と明記されており、志波彦神社・鹽竈神社の参拝者用ではない。
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 (prayer-rite desk; 16:00 in February, August and November; 15:30 in December).
The full note from the source, in Japanese:
祈祷受付 1月・3〜7月・9〜10月 9:00-16:30／2月・8月・11月 9:00-16:00／12月 9:00-15:30（授与所の時間は確認できず）／開門 5:00-20:00
History in brief
- Buildings
- The current buildings were begun under Date Tsunamura, fourth lord of the Sendai domain, in the Genroku era and completed in 1704 under the fifth lord, Yoshimura.
- Moved
- Shiwahiko-no-kami was moved from the old shrine in Iwakiri to Shiogama and placed in the Betsugu hall of Shiogama Shrine.
- Buildings
- The new Shiwahiko Shrine building was built with national funds and completed in 1938.
Summarised from the shrine's own website (鹽竈神社の御由緒 – 志波彦神社・鹽竈神社, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Shiwahiko-no-Kami 志波彦大神
- Shiotsuchioji-no-Kami 塩土老翁神
- Takemikazuchi-no-Mikoto 武甕槌神 3 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Futsunushi-no-Kami 経津主神 4 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
The shrine's website says Shiotsuchi-Oji-no-Kami, the principal deity, is enshrined in the separate shrine, Takemikazuchi in the left shrine and Futsunushi in the right. Shiwahiko Shrine enshrines Shiwahiko-no-Ōkami alone.
Our English summary of the Japanese description. Spelling as given by the shrine's own website.
Goshuin (shrine seal)
- Available
- Yes
Nationally designated cultural properties
- 鹽竈神社
-
Important Cultural Property
三間社流造、檜皮葺
designated 2002-12-26 · mid-Edo period - 鹽竈神社の鹽竈ザクラ
- Natural Monument
Source: the national register. All of them together →
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
7月10日 鹽竈神社例祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 志波彦神社例祭
- 3月29日
- 帆手祭
- 3月10日
- 花まつり
- 4月第4日曜日
- 藻塩焼神事
- 7月4日〜6日
- みなと祭
- 7月第3月曜日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Komagata Jinja, about 92 km to the north in a straight line, the ichinomiya of Rikuchu Province. After that come Chokaizan Omonoimi Jinja (120 km north-west) and Chokaizan Omonoimi Jinja (129 km north-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
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.
Mutsu Sōshagu states: “Recorded in the national histories; the Ichinomiya Shosha Kongenki (一宮諸社根源記), the Shokoku Ichinomiya Jinmyōchō (諸国一宮神名帳), the Ichinomiya-ki (一宮記) and others all take this shrine to be the ichinomiya of Mutsu Province.” Shiogama City also calls it “guardian of the Tohoku region, ichinomiya of Mutsu Province”.
- https://sousyanomiya.jp/shuhen/shiogamajinja/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.city.shiogama.miyagi.jp/soshiki/17/20422.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 Mutsu Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Mutsu Province (Tōsandō)
- Prefecture
- Miyagi
- Engishiki (927)
- Not listed in the Engishiki
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kokuhei Chūsha
Sources
- https://sousyanomiya.jp/shuhen/shiogamajinja/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.city.shiogama.miyagi.jp/soshiki/17/20422.html (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://shiogamajinja.jp/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.shiogamajinja.jp/ (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://shiogamajinja.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/parking-guide-map2.pdf (checked 2026-09-10)
- http://www.shiogamajinja.jp/about/images/map_keidai.pdf (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://shiogamajinja.jp/about/ (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://shiogamajinja.jp/shiogama-shrine-origin/ (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://shiogamajinja.jp/about/shiwahiko.html (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://shiogamajinja.jp/prayers/ (checked 2026-10-29)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.