Amenohinadori-no-Mikoto Shrine Main Hall

The Main Hall of a Hilltop Shrine

The Amenohinadori-no-Mikoto Shrine Main Hall (天日名鳥命神社本殿) is a shrine main hall of 1913 in Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 31, 2022 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey timber hall roofed in copper sheet, with a building area of 7.3 square metres; registration number 31-0281.

A Shikinai Shrine on a Hill

Amenohinadori-no-Mikoto Shrine stands on a hill beside the road from the castle town of Shikano to that of Tottori, and is listed among the shrines of the Engishiki (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Tottori Prefecture Association of Shinto Shrines says its founding date is unknown, but it appears in the register of 927, and in 1913 it absorbed Fukutani Shrine and moved to the present hilltop.

The main hall dates from that move in 1913: a one-bay nagare-style hall roofed in copper, set high with a veranda on all four sides (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its plastered base is built in stone.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency notes that decoration is restrained overall, yet the carved frog-leg struts and other details have a modern flourish, and that the surviving specifications record how shrine buildings were made in the modern era; it was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.

What to Look For

Look for the carved frog-leg struts and the shrine crest on the front doors (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

According to the Tottori Prefecture Association of Shinto Shrines, the precinct is on a small hill at the south end of the village, reached by more than 100 stone steps. The annual festival is held on April 15 (or the nearest Sunday) with a kirin-jishi lion dance, and the autumn festival on October 1.