Togakushi Shrine, Okusha Nagano, Japan
Togakushi Shrine consists of a lower, a middle and an upper shrine in the forested mountains northwest of Nagano’s city center. The shrines are related to an important story in Japanese mythology in which the Sun Goddess hid herself in a cave in present day Takachiho on Kyushu after her brother had misbehaved, thereby bringing darkness to the world.
In order to get the sunlight back, the other deities tried to lure the Sun Goddess out of the cave by performing spectacular dance performances in front of it. As the Sun Goddess took a peek out, one of the deities grabbed the cave’s stone door and threw it away to prevent her from hiding again. The stone door flew all the way to Togakushi in Nagano Prefecture, which is also how the area got its name: Togakushi literally means “hiding door”.
Today, the upper shrine worships the deity who grabbed and threw away the stone door, while the middle shrine enshrines the deity who organized the dance performances in front of the cave.
Epic Japan Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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