Tane Province Reference entry
Yaku Jinja
益救神社
Yaku Jinja is listed here for reference under the former Tane Province, in present-day Kagoshima. It is not on the Ichinomiya Junpaikai’s list. It has a car park; the sources we checked give neither its size nor a fee. Opening hours end at 16:30 (prayer-rite desk). Without a car, the local authority gives 1 route from a station (on foot), one of them a walk of about 5 min; the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on April 29 every year. The nearest other ichinomiya is Hirakiki Jinja, 87 km to the north in a straight line.
This is a reference entry
This shrine is not on the map published by the Ichinomiya Pilgrimage Association (Zenkoku Ichinomiya Junpaikai). We include it for context. It is not presented as a current ichinomiya.
No primary source found.
Getting there
鹿児島県熊毛郡屋久島町宮之浦字水洗尻277
This shrine is on an island
It is on Yakushima and can only be reached by boat or plane. Ports, operators and crossing times →
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
- From OpenStreetMap, as 益救神社. Not checked on the ground
- Address
How to rent and drive a car in Japan →
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By train and bus
- From 宮之浦港
- On foot, about 5 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
宮之浦港から徒歩約5分 安房から車で約30分（約20キロメートル） 最寄りのバス停：宮之浦バス停（徒歩約4分）
Taken from the local authority (益救神社／屋久島町, 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.
屋久島町公式サイトに「トイレ＆駐車場有」とあります。台数・料金・位置は公式に記載がありません（神社公式サイトは準備中）。
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).
The full note from the source, in Japanese:
御祈願受付 9:00-16:30（要予約）
History in brief
- Name
- The shrine says the characters for "Yaku", meaning "ever more saving", were likely chosen in gratitude for the island's role as a landmark and port for sailors.
Summarised from the shrine's own website (益救神社について｜益救神社, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Hikohohodemi-no-Mikoto 天津彦彦火火出見尊 6 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Oyamazumi-no-Kami 大山祇尊 5 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Konohanasakuyahime-no-Mikoto 木花開耶姫尊 4 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Shiotsuchinokina-no-Mikoto 塩土翁尊
- Toyotamahiko-no-Mikoto 豊玉彦尊
- Toyotamahime-no-Mikoto 豊玉姫尊 4 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Tamayorihime-no-Mikoto 玉依姫尊 4 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
The shrine's website lists seven deities in the main hall, with Kushiiwamado-no-Mikoto and Toyoiwamado-no-Mikoto in a subsidiary shrine.
Our English summary of the Japanese description. Spelling as given by the shrine's own website.
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
四月二十九日 例祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 神幸祭
- 四月二十九日
- 月待祭
- 旧一月二十三日
old-calendar date - 益救神太鼓(ヤク祓)の初打ち
- 除夜(午前十一時四十五分より)
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Hirakiki Jinja, about 87 km to the north in a straight line, the ichinomiya of Satsuma Province. After that come Kagoshima Jingu (148 km north) and Nitta Jinja (158 km north).
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
Not on the pilgrimage association map
We could not find it on the pilgrimage association map we checked.
- 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 Tane Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Tane Province (Saikaidō)
- Prefecture
- Kagoshima
- Engishiki (927)
- Myōjin Taisha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kensha
Sources
- https://www.town.yakushima.kagoshima.jp/soshiki/kanko_machizukuri/kankosushin/kankospot/kankoshisetu/982.html (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.kagoshima-kankou.com/guide/11780 (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://yakujinja.com/ (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://yakujinja.com/about.php (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://www.kagojinjacho.or.jp/shrine-search/area-kumage/%E5%B1%8B%E4%B9%85%E5%B3%B6%E7%94%BA/1264/ (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://www.town.yakushima.kagoshima.jp/kanko/kankospot/5/2602.html (checked 2026-10-01)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.