At the summer solstice the sun rises in line with the torii, the shrine's gateway.
The shrine is aligned so that, at the summer solstice (21 June), the sun rises exactly in front of the torii and its light shines straight in as far as the mirror behind the altar, hence the nickname ‘Asahi no Miya’, the shrine of the dawn. It is dedicated to Ōkibitsuhiko no Mikoto, the same prince as at Kibitsu-jinja less than a kilometre away, here worshipped in its role as first shrine (一宮) of the ancient province of Bizen.
According to tradition, the general Ōkibitsuhiko was sent by the court to pacify the Kibi region in the 10th century; having defeated the demon Ura, he stayed in the area and was worshipped there as a living deity. The original complex comprised 51 buildings, shrines and associated temples combined. Among the rites held there, the Otaue-sai (御田植祭), the rice-planting rite of 2–3 August, is an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Okayama Prefecture.
ℹ️ Open every day 8:00–17:00. Free car park, 100 spaces. 3 minutes' walk from JR Bitchū-Ichinomiya Station.
🚉 Bizen-Ichinomiya · 11 min walk
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