Kasami Shrine

Kasami Shrine, an Engishiki-listed shrine at the foot of Mt. Kasami

Kasami Shrine (加佐美神社, Kasami Jinja) in Sohara Furuichiba-cho, Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, is a Shinto shrine whose Main Hall of 1687, Worship Hall of 1746 and Offering Hall of 1910 were registered together as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on April 18, 2008.

The shrine appears in the Engishiki, the 10th-century register of officially recognized shrines, which makes it a shikinaisha. Kakamigahara City notes that it was known as a Hachiman shrine until the end of the Edo period, and that it served as the shared shrine of ten Sohara villages: Furuichiba, Ibuki, Shimazaki, Noguchi, Kumata, Higashijima, Sakai, Miyashiro, Oshima and Asuka. The city tourism association lists three deities: Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa no Maro, the local god Kasami no Okami, and Emperor Ojin.

No one can say exactly when Kasami Shrine was founded. The Gifu Prefecture tourism federation dates it to the early 7th century. The Kakamigahara tourism association cites the court chronicle Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku, which records a promotion in rank for the shrine's deity in 864. A local tradition links the place name Sohara to the Soga clan, and with it the shrine's veneration of Ishikawa no Maro, a Soga statesman of the 7th century.

The three registered buildings of Kasami Shrine

All three buildings were entered in the 59th round of registration, under numbers 21-0157 (Main Hall), 21-0158 (Offering Hall) and 21-0159 (Worship Hall). Only the Main Hall was registered as a model of form. The other two were recognized for their contribution to the historic landscape.

The buildings span more than two centuries. The Main Hall went up in 1687 and was repaired in the late Edo period; the Worship Hall followed in 1746 and was repaired in 1819 and 1831; the Offering Hall was added in 1910. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Worship Hall covers 79 square meters, the Offering Hall 50 square meters and the Main Hall 19 square meters. The Main Hall keeps a roof of cypress bark (Hiwadabuki), while the two later buildings are tiled.

Kasami Shrine also holds two objects designated by Kakamigahara City: a lion mask presented by Noguchi village in 1675, and a pair of wooden guardian figures about 115 centimeters tall, thought to date from the early Edo period. The city adds that the shrine keeps wooden plaques from the Muromachi period and Edo-period maps.

How the grounds of Kasami Shrine are laid out

The halls of Kasami Shrine stand in a line facing south at the southern foot of Mt. Kasami. Walking in along the approach, you meet the Worship Hall first, raised on a stone-faced platform. Behind it and one level higher is the Offering Hall, and the Main Hall sits directly behind that.

The lower walls of the Worship Hall are open on every side, so the front of the Offering Hall can be seen through it. The Main Hall, tucked close behind the Offering Hall, is hard to see from the front of the approach. Each building's own page explains where to stand.

An Amida Hall survives in the grounds as well, a reminder of the centuries when Buddhist and Shinto worship were combined (Shinbutsu-shūgō). The prefectural tourism federation singles out this hall as a feature of Kasami Shrine.

Visiting Kasami Shrine

Kasami Shrine is open to anyone who wishes to visit, and neither the prefectural nor the city tourism listings mention an admission fee. The contact number given in those listings is 058-383-8962.

The shrine is some way from the nearest railway stations. The prefectural tourism federation puts it about 2.5 kilometers from Sohara Station on the JR Takayama Line and about 2.5 kilometers from Rokken Station on the Meitetsu Kakamigahara Line. Buses come closer: the Kakamigahara tourism association gives a walk of about 10 minutes from the Sohara stop on the Gifu Bus Ozaki Danchi Line, or about 8 minutes from the Sohara Furuichibacho stop on the city's Fureai Bus Sohara Line. By car, allow about 16 minutes (about 8.3 kilometers) from the Gifu-Kakamigahara interchange on the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway.

The address is written in slightly different ways. The Agency for Cultural Affairs uses 5-1-1 Sohara Furuichibacho, while the tourism listings give 5-1. Searching a map app for the shrine's name is the simplest option.

The annual festival in October includes a procession in which the city-designated lion mask leads the portable shrine, a role that Kakamigahara City says is still taken by people from Noguchi. For a quiet look at the buildings, choose another day.