Shiogama jinja

Situated in Shiogama City, Miyagi Prefecture, this is the first shrine of the Mutsu Province.
It serves as the head shrine for all Shiogama Shrines in Japan, enshrining Shiotsuchi-no-Oji-no-Kami in the annex, Takemikazuchi-no-Kami in the left shrine, and Futsunushi-no-Kami in the right shrine.
The shrine is believed to have been founded when Shiotsuchi-no-Oji-no-Kami, who guided Takemikazuchi-no-Kami and Futsunushi-no-Kami during the conquest of Tohoku, taught the local people how to produce salt.
It was revered by the Fujiwara clan of Oshu during the Heian period and by the Sendai domain during the Edo period.
In the Meiji era, Shiogama Shrine was relocated to the shrine grounds, where large torii gates and shrine buildings still stand today.

The shrine can be approached from the south gate with long stone steps or the east gate near Shiogama Shrine.
At the top of the stone steps stands a vividly colored tower gate, and ahead lies the shrine hall surrounded by a sacred fence.

The east approach features a stone Myojin torii and a stone-paved path through the sacred grove, unlike the long stone steps.
The Karamon gate at the entrance of the shrine grounds is a gabled four-legged gate, painted red like the surrounding sacred fence, with colored carvings on the wood noses and frog legs.

Within the sacred fence, the main halls of the left and right shrines, as well as the annex shrine, are built.
Each hall is a gabled building with red-painted wood and large carvings of tapirs and lions on the wood noses.
The frog legs in each bay of the columns are adorned with carvings and colors.

The auxiliary shrines outside the sacred fence are also painted red and built in the Nagare-zukuri style, with roofs covering the main buildings.

The Shiogama Shrine, located next to the main hall, is positioned east of the Shiogama Shrine and features a large vermillion Myojin torii at its entrance.
The entrance is surrounded by a sacred fence with a shrine gate and a worship hall of the same style as Shiogama Shrine.
Relocated to its current location in the Meiji era and renovated in 1934, the brightly colored shrine is designated as a cultural property of Shiogama City.