Three Halls in a Row on a Mikawa Bay Headland
Hazu Shrine (幡頭神社, also written Hatazu Shrine) stands in the Kira district of Nishio City, Aichi Prefecture, and three of its buildings are Important Cultural Properties: a main hall built in 1580 and designated in 1921, together with two subsidiary shrine halls added to the same designation in 2022.
The precinct occupies the tip of Cape Hirukozaki, a low promontory pushing into Mikawa Bay, with a stone stairway running down toward the shore. Walk around behind the worship hall and you find three buildings lined up side by side inside a low fence: the main hall in the center, the Kumanosha subsidiary hall to the west, the Shinmeisha subsidiary hall to the east. All three carry cypress-bark roofs, and no two of them share a size or a structural type.
Hazu Shrine traces its founding to 702. Its enshrined deity is Takeinadane no Mikoto, and local tradition, repeated in the city's cultural property notes, holds that he drowned off Suruga while returning from a campaign in the east, that his body washed ashore at Miyazaki, and that he was buried here. The shrine is identified with the Hazu Shrine listed in the tenth-century Engishiki register of official shrines.
Three Buildings at Hazu Shrine, Three Different Systems
Main hall, 1580
The central hall is a three-bay Nagare-zukuri structure with a Hiwadabuki roof of layered cypress bark. It dates to 1580, in the Momoyama period, and it is not a large building. Nishio City's description points to the soundness of the carpentry, the bold curves used in the carved profiles, and the plainness of both the Kaerumata frog-leg struts and the interior carving. What decides the view from the front is the line of the eaves, which lift into a deep upward sweep.
Kumanosha subsidiary hall, 1641
West of the main hall, the Kumanosha hall is a one-bay building in Irimoya-zukuri, a hipped-and-gabled form, entered on the gable end with a canopy projecting over the front. Turning the gable to the front and then adding a canopy to it is an unusual combination. The date comes from an ink inscription found during repair work in 1977, which fixed the construction at 1641.
Shinmeisha subsidiary hall, early Edo period
The eastern hall, Shinmeisha, is a three-bay building of the nagare-misedana type. Misedana-zukuri describes a compact hall with a shelf-like platform beneath the floor and no stairs, a form usually reserved for small subsidiary shrines. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that this example is comparatively large for its type. The agency dates it to the early seventeenth century; Nishio City places it around 1641, contemporary with the Kumanosha hall.
Two Designations, 101 Years Apart
The main hall of Hazu Shrine was designated an Important Cultural Property on 30 April 1921. The Kumanosha and Shinmeisha halls joined it on 20 September 2022, a gap of 101 years. All three now sit under a single designation, number 00750, made under the criterion covering buildings of high historical value.
Aichi Prefecture's annual cultural property report records the case as one previously designated building plus two added, three in total, and states that the additions are protected together with the main hall. The Agency for Cultural Affairs makes the same point from the other direction: what it values is the sight of three halls of differing form standing in a row, preserving a precinct arrangement that goes back to the beginning of the early modern period. The object of protection is the group, not three separate buildings that happen to share a site.
Wooden ridge tablets are included in the designation as Tsuketari, subsidiary items. The Agency for Cultural Affairs lists three for the main hall, four for the Kumanosha hall and two for the Shinmeisha hall. Nishio City, however, gives a figure of eleven tablets under the main hall entry, so the counts do not agree.
What to Look For at Hazu Shrine
Try to fit all three halls into one photograph and the first thing you notice is that the roofs are not level with one another. The central hall sits slightly higher, the flanking halls lower. This is not a symmetrical composition.
Move to the side of the worship hall and there is a position from which all three roof profiles are visible at once. The main hall's front slope runs long and low, the Kumanosha hall turns its gable forward under a short canopy, the Shinmeisha hall crouches close to the ground. The roofs alone tell you the period of each building and its rank within the precinct.
Cypress-bark roofing is renewed every few decades, and freshly laid bark differs from weathered bark in both color and surface. Comparing the three roofs gives a rough sense of when each was last repaired.
The precinct looks out over a wide stretch of Mikawa Bay, with the Chita Peninsula lying across the water. The sea in front of you is the same one that carries the founding legend. Walk down the stone steps to the shoreline and turn around, and the roofs appear riding on top of the headland.
Visiting Hazu Shrine
There is no gate or barrier around the precinct. Visitors may enter at any hour, and no admission fee is charged. The three designated halls stand behind the worship hall and are seen from outside the surrounding fence. Interiors are not open.
Photography of the grounds and of the exteriors is not normally restricted. Put the camera away if a ritual is in progress.
The nearest station is Kira-Yoshida on the Meitetsu Nishio and Gamagori lines. Hazu Shrine is about three kilometres away by road, roughly 45 minutes on foot or under ten minutes by taxi. Bus services are sparse, so a car is the practical option; turn off National Route 247 toward Miyazaki beach. The precinct sits on high ground and the approach is a flight of stone steps, so wear shoes you can climb in. Access conditions and travel times were checked on 30 August 2026.
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Q&A
- How many Important Cultural Properties are there at Hazu Shrine?
- Three buildings: the main hall, the Kumanosha subsidiary shrine main hall and the Shinmeisha subsidiary shrine main hall. The main hall was designated in 1921 and the two subsidiary halls in 2022, all under designation number 00750.
- When was the main hall of Hazu Shrine built?
- In 1580, during the Momoyama period. It is a three-bay nagare-zukuri hall with a cypress-bark roof. The Kumanosha hall dates from 1641 and the Shinmeisha hall from the early Edo period.
- Can you visit Hazu Shrine, and is there an admission fee or a closing time?
- The precinct is unenclosed and open at any hour, with no admission fee and no reception desk. The three halls are viewed from outside the fence behind the worship hall; their interiors are closed. Photographing the exteriors is not normally restricted, but refrain during rituals.
- How do you get to Hazu Shrine from the nearest station?
- Kira-Yoshida station on the Meitetsu Nishio and Gamagori lines is the closest, about three kilometres away by road. That is roughly 45 minutes on foot or under ten minutes by taxi. Buses are infrequent, so most visitors arrive by car.
- What is the difference between the three halls at Hazu Shrine?
- The main hall is a three-bay nagare-zukuri structure. The Kumanosha hall is a one-bay hipped-and-gabled building entered on the gable end, with a canopy over the front. The Shinmeisha hall is a three-bay nagare-misedana structure. All three have cypress-bark roofs, but each differs in scale and type, and that contrast is the reason for the designation.
Basic Information
| Name | Hazu Shrine (main hall, Kumanosha subsidiary shrine main hall, Shinmeisha subsidiary shrine main hall) |
|---|---|
| Location | Miyazakimiyamae, Kiracho, Nishio City, Aichi Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property |
| Year Designated | Taisho 10 (1921) for the main hall; Reiwa 4 (2022) for the Kumanosha and Shinmeisha subsidiary shrine main halls, added to the same designation |
| Quantity | 3 buildings |
| Dimensions | Not given in published records (the main hall and the Shinmeisha hall are three-bay, the Kumanosha hall one-bay) |
| Owner | Hazu Shrine, a religious corporation |
| Public Access | Precinct open at any hour, no admission fee. The three halls are viewed from outside the fence behind the worship hall; interiors closed |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Hatazu Shrine Main Hall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/1278
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Kumanosha Subsidiary Shrine Main Hall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/00005447
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Shinmeisha Subsidiary Shrine Main Hall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/00005448
- Nishio City: Hatazu Shrine Main Hall
- https://www.city.nishio.aichi.jp/sportskanko/bunkazai/1001485/1001608/1001659/1002704.html
- Nishio City: Hatazu Shrine Kumanosha Subsidiary Shrine Main Hall
- https://www.city.nishio.aichi.jp/sportskanko/bunkazai/1001485/1001608/1001659/1002724.html
- Nishio City: Hatazu Shrine Shinmeisha Subsidiary Shrine Main Hall
- https://www.city.nishio.aichi.jp/sportskanko/bunkazai/1001485/1001608/1001659/1002723.html
- Aichi Prefecture, Annual Report on Cultural Properties No. 18 (fiscal 2022)
- https://www.pref.aichi.jp/uploaded/life/637229_2934440_misc.pdf
Last verified: 2026.08.30
Cultural Treasures in the Same Area
All are within walking distance in the same area, so we recommend visiting them together.
- Hatazu Shrine Main shrine
- Hatazu Shrine Kumano Shrine Main Hall 0.01 km
- Hatazu Shrine Shinmeisha Shrine Main Hall 0.01 km