Founded in 673 to stand guard over Dazaifu on the side from which evil was feared.
You climb Mount Hōman and the shrine is up there, facing north-east: the direction from which, according to the tradition of the time, misfortune came, and that is why it was built right there, to watch the back of the administrative capital of Dazaifu. Its foundation dates back to 673, after the monk Shinren said he had seen the goddess Tamayori-hime on the mountain; in 1106 the shrine was given the highest rank.
A Dazaifu shrine at the foot of Mount Hōman: the one you visit is the 下宮, the lower shrine, in 大字内山; the 上宮 is on the summit, at 829.6 m. It is a shikinaisha of myōjin-taisha rank, founded according to tradition in 673, and it stood guard over the kimon (the north-east corner, the direction from which evil comes) of the Dazaifu, the regional government that ruled Kyūshū. It enshrines Tamayori-hime and is known today above all as a shrine for relationships; the whole of Mount Hōman is a national historic site.
ℹ️ Grounds always open. From Dazaifu Station the municipal bus runs to the terminus 内山（竈門神社前）, two hundred metres below the shrine. The climb to the 上宮 is a real hike, not a visit.
🚉 Dazaifu · 34 min walk
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It is the main model for the Kamado family's shrine. The link rests on two points: the main deity is associated with kitchens (kamado means stove) and the author, Koyoharu Gotōge, is from Fukuoka. The wooded stairways and the stone torii recall the scenes of Tanjirō's home village.
Sources: nara.blue · anitabi.jp · bushikaku.net · kamadojinja.or.jp
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