Aoba Shrine

Aoba Shrine

Aoba Shrine (青葉神社, Aoba Jinja) in Aoba Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, is the shrine of Date Masamune, founder of the Sendai domain; founded in 1873, it has six buildings, including the main hall and the worship hall, that were registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on March 29, 2019 (Miyagi Prefecture; Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency places Aoba Shrine at the northern edge of Sendai's old castle town. According to Miyagi Prefecture, the present main buildings were designed by an engineer of the prefectural government and raised under a master carpenter descended from the carpenters of the old Sendai domain, rebuilt in stages from the Taisho era into the early Showa era.

Founding and Rebuilding

The shrine's own history says it began in 1873, when townspeople petitioned for a shrine to the domain's founder; the main hall, worship hall and other buildings were finished in November 1874. The Miyagi Visitors Bureau gives 1874 as the founding year. Fire destroyed the buildings in 1876, and they were rebuilt the following year.

The buildings you see today come from a reconstruction that began in 1922. The main hall was completed in 1924, followed by the worship hall, middle gate, prayer recitation hall and openwork fence in 1927 (Agency for Cultural Affairs; Aoba Shrine). The enshrined deity is Takefurihiko-no-Mikoto, the deified Date Masamune.

The surrounding Kitayama district gathers Zen temples tied to the Date family, known as the Kitayama Five Temples (Aoba Shrine).

Layout and the Six Registered Buildings

The buildings line up on a north-south axis. At the end of a straight approach the worship hall faces south, with the main hall behind it. An openwork fence encloses the main hall on all four sides, with the middle gate at its front and the prayer recitation hall joined to the back of the gate. Northwest of the worship hall stands the offering preparation hall, linked to it by a corridor, and in front of the worship hall stands the small former Megohime Shrine protective hall (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

• Aoba Shrine Main Hall: 1924, registration number 04-159
• Aoba Shrine Worship Hall: 1927, registration number 04-162
• Aoba Shrine Middle Gate and Prayer Recitation Hall: 1927, registration number 04-160
• Aoba Shrine Lattice Fence: 1927, registration number 04-161
• Aoba Shrine Offering Preparation Hall and Offering Corridor: about 1929, registration number 04-163
• Aoba Shrine Former Megohime Shrine Protective Hall: 1931, moved and altered in the mid-Showa era, registration number 04-164

Three of the six, the main hall, the middle gate with the prayer recitation hall, and the protective hall, were registered as models of design; the worship hall, the fence and the offering preparation hall were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Miyagi Prefecture's announcement dates the protective hall to 1929, which differs from the Agency's record.

The Aoba Festival

According to the shrine, the Aoba Festival was revived in 1985 to mark 350 years since Masamune's death. It is held every May around May 24, the anniversary of his death, when ornate festival floats and suzume odori sparrow dancers fill the city streets. The Miyagi Visitors Bureau traces the Sendai Aoba Festival to the grand festival of this shrine.

Visiting and Getting There

The Miyagi Visitors Bureau says the grounds are open freely for worship. Aoba Shrine is a 5-minute walk from Kita-Sendai Station, served by the JR Senzan Line and the Sendai Subway Namboku Line. From the west bus terminal at JR Sendai Station, a Sendai City bus takes about 21 minutes to the Toricho 2-chome stop, then it is a 5-minute walk. By car it is about 17 minutes from the Sendai-Miyagi interchange.

The shrine office can be reached on 022-234-4964 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and prayer services are accepted from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Aoba Shrine). Visitors are asked not to photograph or record during prayer services.

Smoking, drones and entering restricted areas are prohibited in the grounds, and interviews or bringing a vehicle into the precinct require the shrine's permission (Aoba Shrine).

Names and Readings

The name is read Aoba Jinja. The Megohime in the protective hall's name (愛姫) is read Megohime, the same name as Date Masamune's wife; however, no official source was found on what the Megohime Shrine enshrined or how the hall came to its present site.