Visited in person · Original photography
Origins and founding
It enshrines Emperor Ojin. Its parishioners are the people of the northern half of the town of Takayama.
The torii on the approach. The white building beyond is the Yatai Kaikan, the festival float hall, where real floats can be seen even outside the festival.
What to see
The stage of the autumn Takayama Festival (the Hachiman Festival). Mechanical puppets ride on the festival floats. At the Yatai Kaikan, the real floats can be seen even outside the festival.
The main hall, surrounded by cedars.
A small shrine in the grounds, at the top of a stone stair lined with stone lanterns.
Cultural context
The floats of the Takayama Festival have been rebuilt over the generations by the carpenters of Hida. The same background seen at Minashi Jinja, skill with wood, appears here in the form of a festival. The town is divided north and south between the spring Sanno Festival (Hie Jinja) and the autumn Hachiman Festival (Sakurayama Hachimangu). It is one of the “Yama, Hoko and Yatai” float festivals inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2016.