"Silver and Japanese Shrine" is the head office of sericulture care, with cherry blossoms over 1,000 years old [Fukushima Prefecture]

Located about 1km southwest of JR Aizuwakamatsu Station is the town of Kogai-cho, home to the Kogai-kuni Shrine, the head shrine of the sericulture community, and home to the sacred Minebari Sakura tree, which is over 1,000 years old .

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Sanyo-kuni Shrine was once the only shrine in Japan known as "Japan's No. 1 Shrine"

This is a historic shrine said to have been founded in 811, and in the Engishiki Shinmei-cho a list of shrines compiled in 927, it is listed as one of 2,861 "Shikinaisha" (shrines within the Engishiki) shrines nationwide. At the time, there were only two such shrines in Aizu County, including Isasumi Shrine in what is now Aizu Misato Town.

Furthermore, there was no other shrine bearing the name "Sanyo Kuni," meaning that at the time, this was the only Sanyo Kuni Shrine in Japan

From its name, it is thought to be related to sericulture,

The Nihon Koki, an imperially commissioned history compiled in the early Heian period, contains a passage stating that "two women from each of the provinces of Ise, Mikawa, Sagami, Omi, Tamba, and Tajima were sent to Mutsu Province to teach sericulture techniques for two years." This suggests that the central government at the time had a plan to establish a sericulture industry in Aizu, and so the shrine was enshrined there, but this is not certain

Enshrined deities and divine virtues

The enshrined deity is

• Ukemochi no Okami (the wolf of food)
• Wakumusubi no Okami (Wakumusubi no Okami)
• Amaterasu Omikami

These three deities are known as the guardian deities of sericulture, and are worshipped as guardians of the prosperity of agriculture, industry, and commerce, as well as road safety

In the worship hall, you can see silk company cocoon plaques, which appear to be made from silkworm cocoons and resemble the company emblem, being donated

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The shrine temporarily declined after it was burned down, but was restored under the patronage of the Aizu clan

The shrine temporarily declined when the main building, which was said to have been built by Ishibe Shosho Michihide, the prefectural governor, and his associates, was destroyed in a fire in 1011. However, it was later rebuilt by Hoshina Masayuki, the first lord of the Aizu domain, who rebuilt the main building and secured the shrine's land of 20 koku

The shrine building was destroyed again by fire in 1807, but it is said to have been rebuilt again in 1819 by Matsudaira Katayoshi, the eighth lord of the Aizu domain

Perhaps because of this, the sacred crest of Sanyo-kuni Shrine is the Aizu Mitsuaoi,

In 1876, after the Meiji Restoration, it was designated a prefectural shrine under the modern shrine ranking system (now abolished)

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The Minebari Sakura tree at Sanyo-kuni Shrine is said to be over 1,000 years old

"Minebari Sakura" in the grounds of Sanyo-kuni Shrine is said to have been planted when the shrine was founded in 1011 by the prefectural governor, Ishibe Shosho Michihide, and others. The tree is estimated to be over 1,000 years old and is the shrine's sacred tree.

The information board says it is "one of the Aizu Five Cherry Blossoms," but the other cherry blossoms that are generally counted in the Aizu Five Cherry Blossoms are Ishibe Cherry Blossom (Aizuwakamatsu City), Torano-o Cherry Blossom (Aizumisato Town), Usuzumi Cherry Blossom (Aizumisato Town), Sugi no Ito Cherry Blossom (Aizubange Town), and Oshika Cherry Blossom (Inawashiro Town), so perhaps this is the runner-up?

Sanyo-kuni Shrine <Information>

• Name: Kayokuni Shrine
• Address: 2-1, Sanyocho, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, 965-0023
• Phone number: 0242-37-3166
• Official URL: Aizu Kogai-sama – Jamyokuni Shrine

Google Map

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