Oki Province Ichinomiya
Yurahime Jinja
由良比女神社
Yurahime Jinja is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Oki Province, in present-day Shimane. It has a car park; the sources we checked give neither its size nor a fee. Opening hours end at 17:30 (nishinoshima tourism office counter). Without a car, a local tourism body gives 2 routes from a station (by bus, on foot), one of them a walk of about 90 min; the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on July 28 every year. The nearest other ichinomiya is Mizuwakasu Jinja, 31 km to the north-east in a straight line.
Getting there
島根県隠岐郡西ノ島町浦郷922
This shrine is on an island
It is on Oki — Dōzen (Nishinoshima) 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 由良比女神社. Not checked on the ground
- Address
How to rent and drive a car in Japan →
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By train and bus
- From 別府港
- By bus, about 25 min.
- From 別府港
- On foot, about 90 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
別府港からのアクセス 車 約10分 自転車 電動アシストで約30分、e-bikeで約20分。徒歩 約90分 バス 町営バスで約25分「由良比女神社」バス停で下車
Taken from a local tourism body (西ノ島町観光協会「由良比女神社」, 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; the sources we checked give neither its size nor a fee.
台数・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 17:30 (nishinoshima tourism office counter).
The full note from the source, in Japanese:
社務所に常駐者なし。御朱印は西ノ島町観光協会窓口（8:30-17:30、年中無休。年末年始は変動あり）
History in brief
- History
- Formal prayers were offered here in Jowa 15 under Emperor Ninmyo and in Gangyo 1 under Emperor Yozei.
- History
- In Ansei 2, it was decided to make the shrine's festival a joint festival of all the Dozen islands.
- History
- According to legend, the goddess returns riding a squid, and on that night squid gather at Yura beach.
Summarised from the prefectural shrine association (島根県神社庁 由良比女神社, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Yurahime-no-Okami 由良比女大神
Spelling as given by the prefectural shrine office or local authority.
Goshuin (shrine seal)
- Available
- Yes
- Hours
- 8:30-17:30
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
7／28 例祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 神帰祭
- 11月29日夜
- 海上渡御祭
- 例大祭で隔年
- 由良の大祭り
- 隔年（西暦奇数年）の7月最終の土、日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Mizuwakasu Jinja, about 31 km to the north-east in a straight line, in the same province. After that come Kumano Taisha (80 km south) and Izumo Taisha (81 km south).
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.
The Shimane Prefecture Shrine Agency says that it “was admitted to the official shrines in Jōwa 9, in the reign of Emperor Ninmyō”, that “the Engishiki Jinmyōchō has it as Yurahime Daimyōjin of Junior Third Rank, Upper”, and that “at the end of the Heian period it was fixed as the ichinomiya of Oki Province”. It stands on Dōzen.
- https://www.shimane-jinjacho.or.jp/nishinoshima/14644cfc44073745c06a699475a0d3cdc4f675ec.html (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.kankou-shimane.com/destination/20488 (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 Oki Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Oki Province (San'indō)
- Prefecture
- Shimane
- Engishiki (927)
- Shōsha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Sonsha
Sources
- https://www.shimane-jinjacho.or.jp/nishinoshima/14644cfc44073745c06a699475a0d3cdc4f675ec.html (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.kankou-shimane.com/destination/20488 (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://nkk-oki.com/japan/information/yurahime-shrine/ (checked 2026-09-09)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.