Miho Shrine

Miho Shrine

Miho Shrine (美保神社) at Mihonoseki, Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, has a main hall of 1813 designated as an Important Cultural Property in 1982 and a worship hall of 1924 registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2022 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency describes it as an ancient shrine recorded in the Izumo no Kuni Fudoki and the Engishiki. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, its deities are Ebisu (Kotoshironushi), god of fishing and commerce, and Mihotsuhime, and scenes from the myth of the ceding of the land are re-enacted in the harbour at the Morotabune rite on December 3 and the Aofushigaki rite on April 7.

The Main Hall and the Worship Hall

The main hall joins two taisha-style halls with front chambers by a linking room under a pent roof across the whole front, the largest and oldest example of this twin form in the region (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Japan Tourism Agency notes that Mihotsuhime is enshrined in the Ogozen and Ebisu in the Ninogozen, and the cut of the finials marks each deity.

The worship hall is six bays by three with a gabled shingle roof entered from the gable end; columns rise from a stone floor, the hall is open on all sides and its roof framing is left on view (Agency for Cultural Affairs), a spacious hall fitting for the grand main hall. The Japan Tourism Agency attributes it to Ito Chuta and dates it to 1928. Each building is described on its own page.

Visiting

No official information on visiting hours was found.