Visited in person · Original photography
Origins and founding
Tradition links the shrine to Yamato Takeru's eastern campaign. It stands in the mountains at about 1,100 metres. One of the three Chichibu shrines.
A large white torii. The animals beside it are wolves, or mountain dogs, not komainu.
What to see
The Mitsu-torii, an unusual form of three torii joined side by side / wolves instead of komainu. The wolf deity Okuchi no Makami is the shrine's messenger / seas of cloud / the Okumiya shrine on the summit of Mount Myohogatake.
A sacred cedar wrapped in shimenawa. Small stone monuments and a tiny shrine stand at its base.
The mountain approach. It runs up to about 1,100 metres.
A sea of cloud and the Chichibu mountains from the summit.
Cultural context
Mountain worship and wolf worship. Shrines using the wolf as a divine messenger are scattered through the mountains of Kanto. Mitsumine was once a centre of Shugendo.
Visiting notes
⚠️Access is poor. There is no nearby station, and the shrine is reached by bus from Seibu-Chichibu Station. Without a car, the trip is difficult.