Suo Province Ichinomiya
Tamanooya Jinja
玉祖神社
Tamanooya Jinja is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Suo Province, in present-day Yamaguchi. It has a car park; the sources we checked give neither its size nor a fee. Without a car, a local tourism body gives 1 route from a station (by bus); the station names are listed below. We found 2 entries for the shrine in Japan’s national database of designated cultural properties. The nearest other ichinomiya is Sumiyoshi Jinja, 54 km to the west in a straight line.
Getting there
山口県防府市大崎 1690
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 防府駅
- By bus, 20 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
・防府駅からバスで約12分「 医療センター」下車、徒歩20分
Taken from a local tourism body (玉祖神社｜おいでませ山口へ（山口県観光連盟）, 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; the sources we checked give neither its size nor a fee.
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.
2か所。神社正面のすぐ右手に6〜7台、左奥に約20台（防府観光コンベンション協会「たびたびほうふ」）。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.
Visiting the 2 ichinomiya in Yamaguchi in one day? Work out an order that reaches each office before it closes →
History in brief
- History
- The founding year is unknown, but the Nihon Shoki already names the shrine, saying Emperor Keiko prayed here during his campaign against the Kumaso.
- Buildings
- In 1195 the monk Chogen, who led the rebuilding of Todai-ji, rebuilt the shrine's sanctuary in thanks for completing that work.
Summarised from a local tourism body (玉祖神社, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Tamaoya-no-Mikoto 玉祖命 2 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
Yamaguchi Prefecture's tourism site says the Engishiki lists the shrine with two deities, but only Tamanooya-no-Mikoto is known.
Our English summary of the Japanese description. Spelling as given by the prefectural shrine office or local authority.
Nationally designated cultural properties
- 周防国一宮造替神殿宝物等目録〈建久六年九月廿八日／重源加判〉
- Important Cultural Property
- 玉祖神社の占手相撲
- Intangible Folk Cultural Property selected for recording (manners and customs)
Source: the national register. All of them together →
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
9月 例祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 占手神事
- 9月24日（近年はそれに近い土曜日）
- 玉の祭
- 4月上旬
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Sumiyoshi Jinja, about 54 km to the west in a straight line, the ichinomiya of Nagato Province. After that come Usa Jingu (61 km south) and Itsukushima Jinja (77 km 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 Suo Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Suo Province (San'yōdō)
- Prefecture
- Yamaguchi
- Engishiki (927)
- Myōjin Taisha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kensha
Sources
- https://yamaguchi-tourism.jp/spot/detail_15431.html (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://visit-hofu.jp/hofu-en-meguri-parking/ (checked 2026-10-15)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.