Shirayama Hime Shrine (Hakusan Hime)

photo by くろふね · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by Saigen Jiro · Public domain

At the head of over 2,000 Hakusan shrines, with 800-year-old cedars along the approach.

The shrine venerates Mount Hakusan, one of Japan's three sacred mountains together with Fuji and Tateyama, and it is the head shrine (総本宮): over 2,000 Hakusan shrines across the country look to it. The approach avenue, about 250 metres long from the first torii to the shrine, runs under centuries-old cedars and zelkovas: the oldest, a sacred cedar, is about 800 years old, and a large zelkova is estimated at 1,000. The deity's name, Kukurihime, plays on its homophone ‘kukuru’ (to tie, to join), which makes it a destination for those seeking a good bond.

Tradition dates its founding to 91 BC; in 717 the monk Taichō climbed to the summit of Mount Hakusan for the first time and built the upper shrine (奥宮) there, spreading the cult of the mountain from here throughout Japan. The present main shrine was rebuilt in 1770 by the Kaga domain.

ℹ️ The shrine and the approach avenue are always open to visitors; the office for amulets and seals (御朱印) is open 9:00–16:00. Limited access by public transport (local bus line from Tsurugi, a station on the Hokuriku Railroad Ishikawa); by car about 30 minutes from Kanazawa.

Sources: city.hakusan.lg.jp · hot-ishikawa.jp

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