Amano Iwato Shrine (天岩戸神社) 天岩戸神社
Every 10–15 minutes a free guided tour takes you to see the cave where Amaterasu hid.
In the myth, Amaterasu shut herself away in the cave to escape her brother Susanoo, and the world remained in darkness until the other kami persuaded her to come out. The site was re-established as a shrine in 812 by the priest Ōkami no Koreaki; the Higashi-Hongū has documented origins between 898 and 901, and the Nishi-Hongū was rebuilt in 1986. The Nishi-Hongū holds its celebrations on 2–3 May and the Higashi-Hongū on 22–23 September, on the same dates every year. About 400 metres along the river is Amanoyasugawara, the cave where tradition holds that the eight hundred thousand kami gathered to decide how to get her out – a separate place, run by the same shrine and not covered by this entry.
Miyazaki
岩戸
