Uji Shrine Honden: The Lower Shrine of a Divided Pair
Two shrines stand a few minutes apart on the east bank of the Uji River, and until 1883 they were one institution. Uji Shrine was the lower shrine, the wakamiya. Ujigami Shrine uphill was the upper shrine, the hongu. Together they were known as Rikyu Myojin, the detached palace deity. The Engishiki register compiled in 927 lists "Uji Jinja, two seats" in Uji District of Yamashiro Province, and the two seats are generally assigned one to each shrine. Meiji-era policy split them. The lane between them, now called Sawarabi-no-michi, is the seam.
The main hall of the lower shrine is an Important Cultural Property. Its counterpart uphill is a National Treasure. The gap in status is real, and it is worth being precise about what it means rather than treating the lower shrine as a lesser stop.
Three Bays, One Building
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records the structure in six words: three-bay nagare-zukuri, cypress-bark roof. That is the whole entry. One building, three bays across the front, the front slope of the roof extended forward over the steps.
Set that against Ujigami Shrine's main hall and the contrast is exact. Uphill, three separate one-bay sanctuaries stand in a row inside a covering hall, an unusual arrangement that exists almost nowhere else. Downhill, a single three-bay hall does the same job in the ordinary way. The uphill building is the earliest survivor of a type. The downhill building is the type itself, mature and settled, the form that spread across Japan and became the default.
The hall is raised high on posts. Under the floor, at the centre of the void, a stone base still sits, which the shrine reads as a trace of its own founding. Three doors open across the front. Only the central one has a second door set inside it, and the sacred object is enshrined behind that inner door, together with a seated wooden image of Uji no Wakiiratsuko. The chambers behind the left and right doors form a single undivided room, which has led the shrine to suggest that wooden guardian lions of the same period once stood there.
That seated image is itself an Important Cultural Property, designated separately from the building. It is a shinzo, a Shinto deity image in wood, a category far rarer than Buddhist sculpture and one that most visitors to Japan never encounter.
The Designation, and a Question About the Date
The hall was listed under the old Special Protection law on 31 July 1902, designation number 00226. The Agency for Cultural Affairs places it in the late Kamakura period, giving a range of 1275 to 1332.
The shrine's own account differs. Its official description places the building in the early Kamakura period, and several guides follow that reading. The gap is roughly a century.
Where sources disagree, the national database takes precedence, so late Kamakura is the safer statement. The two datings need not be treated as a dispute to be settled by the visitor. They reflect different weightings of stylistic evidence, and no ring-dating survey comparable to the one carried out at Ujigami Shrine in 2004 has produced a figure for this hall. If you want a phrase that covers the ground honestly: a Kamakura-period building, most probably of the later part of that period.
Important Cultural Property is not a consolation prize. It is the designation that covers the great majority of nationally protected buildings in Japan, and National Treasure is a further selection made from within that group. Both carry the same legal protections. The difference is one of comparative rank, not of kind.
Rabbits, and the Prince Who Refused a Throne
The deity here is Uji no Wakiiratsuko, a son of Emperor Ojin. The chronicles record that his father named him heir over his elder half-brother Osazaki, later Emperor Nintoku, following an old preference for younger successors who would reign longer. The prince had studied under scholars from the continent and held to the principle of primogeniture. He refused. His brother refused in turn. According to the shrine's telling, the throne stood empty for roughly three years until the prince ended his own life to resolve the deadlock, and the grieving brother enshrined his spirit at this spot in 313.
The dates belong to legendary chronology and should be read as tradition rather than record. The shrine states that its own founding cannot be dated with certainty.
The rabbits are everywhere once you notice them. The story holds that the prince lost his way travelling from Kawachi to this place, and a single rabbit appeared and led him on, turning back again and again to check he was following. The mikaeri-usagi, the looking-back rabbit, became the shrine's divine messenger. Its name is said to lie behind the old writing of the place name, Uji in a form using the character for rabbit, which later settled into the characters used today.
The shrine sells rabbit fortunes and rabbit votive tablets, and there is a rabbit hunt among the buildings for visitors who want one. The prince is petitioned for success in study and examinations, which follows from his reputation for learning. Given the story, so does the rabbit that shows you the right road.
Making the Visit
Cross the vermilion Asagiri Bridge from the Byodoin side and Uji Shrine is straight ahead. The precinct is small and free to enter, with no gate to pass through.
Go to the main hall first, before the rabbits pull your attention. Stand square to it and look at the three bays and the single continuous roof sweep, then look under the floor at the tall posts and the stone at the centre. Then walk up the lane to Ujigami Shrine and look at the covering hall there. Fifteen minutes and two buildings will teach you more about nagare-zukuri than any diagram.
The worship hall in the precinct, called Kiriharaden, is designated by Kyoto Prefecture, as are the small Kasuga and Hiyoshi shrines. The precinct rewards slow walking despite its size.
Every October, during the Uji tea festival, the head priest performs the drawing of the famous water here. The water itself comes from Kirihara-sui, uphill at Ujigami Shrine, the last of the seven famous waters of Uji still running. The two shrines were split by an administrative decision in 1883. The ritual has not entirely agreed to it.
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Q&A
- What is the difference between Uji Shrine and Ujigami Shrine?
- They were a single institution until 1883. Uji Shrine was the lower shrine, Ujigami Shrine the upper. They sit a few minutes apart on the same lane. Uji Shrine's main hall is an Important Cultural Property; Ujigami Shrine's main hall and worship hall are National Treasures.
- Why is this an Important Cultural Property rather than a National Treasure?
- National Treasure is a further selection made from among Important Cultural Properties, reserved for works of outstanding value. Both designations carry the same legal protection. The distinction is comparative rank, not a judgement that one building matters and the other does not.
- Sources give different dates for the building. Which is right?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs assigns it to the late Kamakura period, 1275 to 1332. The shrine's own account says early Kamakura. Where they conflict the national database is the safer authority, and no ring-dating survey has settled the question.
- Can I see the wooden image of the prince?
- The seated image is an Important Cultural Property enshrined inside the main hall behind the inner central door and is not on general view. Enquire at the shrine office about any special openings.
- What are the rabbits about?
- A rabbit is said to have guided the lost prince to this place, looking back repeatedly to keep him on the path. It became the shrine's divine messenger and a symbol of being shown the right road. Rabbit fortunes and votive tablets are sold at the office.
Basic Information
| Name | Uji Jinja Honden (Main Hall of Uji Shrine) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1 Ujiyamada, Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (designation no. 00226) |
| Designation date | 31 July 1902 |
| Count | 1 building |
| Structure | Three-bay nagare-zukuri, cypress-bark roof |
| Period | Late Kamakura, 1275 to 1332, per the Agency for Cultural Affairs; the shrine's own account gives early Kamakura |
| Enshrined deity | Uji no Wakiiratsuko |
| Owner | Uji Shrine |
| Related property | Seated wooden image of Uji no Wakiiratsuko, Important Cultural Property, enshrined within the main hall |
| Access | About 5 minutes on foot from Keihan Uji Station; about 15 minutes from JR Uji Station |
| Admission | The precinct is open and free of charge. Prayer services are handled at the shrine office during daytime hours. |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Database of Designated Cultural Properties: Uji Shrine Main Hall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/1949
- Uji Shrine, official site
- https://uji-jinja.com/
- Cultural Heritage Online, World Heritage Component: Ujigami Shrine
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/special_content/component/32
- Kyoto Prefecture, World Heritage: Ujigami Shrine
- https://www.pref.kyoto.jp/isan/ujigami.html
- Uji City, Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.uji.kyoto.jp/site/bunkazai/
Last verified: 2026.07.15