Ujigami jinja

Located on the east bank of the Uji River, opposite Byodoin Temple.
Until the Meiji Restoration, it was considered one shrine along with Ujigami Shrine to the east.
The site is associated with the detached palace of Emperor Ojin, father of the enshrined deity, Prince Uji no Wakiiratsuko.
Ujigami Shrine was referred to as the upper detached palace shrine, while Uji Shrine was called the young shrine or lower detached palace shrine.
Together, they were known as Rikyu Shrine or Rikyu Hachiman.
After the establishment of Byodoin, it also served as its guardian shrine, but the exact date of its founding is unclear.

The torii gate is painted red and black in the Myojin style.
Next to it is a signboard proclaiming "World Cultural Heritage," and a river flows right in front of the fenced shrine grounds, with the main hall directly ahead.
The main hall, built in the early Kamakura period, measures six bays by three bays and is a long, rectangular irimoya-zukuri structure.
The roof is hinoki bark thatch with an exaggerated upward curve, giving a clean, elegant appearance.
It is designated a National Treasure as the oldest existing main hall in Japan.
The hand-washing basin uses water from Kirihara-sui, one of the Uji Seven Famous Waters, which continues to flow even though the others have dried up.

The main sanctuary consists of three inner sanctuaries housed within a single covering structure, all in the nagare-zukuri style.
Each shrine has a lattice sliding door at the front and a veranda with a small staircase leading up.
The inner sanctuaries are integrated into the walls and ceiling of the covering structure, with carved elements dating back to the late Heian period.

The auxiliary shrine to the left of the main sanctuary is also an ancient structure.
The auxiliary Kasuga Shrine, a National Important Cultural Property, was built in the Kamakura period.
It is a single-bay nagare-zukuri structure, simple and unadorned with minimal decoration.