Suwa jinja

The Suwa Shrine in the Kega district is situated on a small hill. Located south of Iida City, the shrine is in a quiet residential area surrounded by fields. To reach the shrine from the main road, you climb about 40 stone steps and pass through a torii gate. The approach to the shrine runs alongside a community center, with the shrine located beyond it.

The worship hall (haiden) at the front is not of the typical gable roof style with a flat entrance seen in the Iida area, but rather an irimoya-zukuri style with a gable entrance, and there is no shelter built behind it. The lattice walls match the style of worship halls in the region.

The main hall (honden), built in 1815, is a nagare-zukuri style single-bay structure. It was constructed by Kitazawa Yoshiro and Hara Jinsaburo, who were disciples of the Tachikawa school. The shrine features intricate carvings, including peonies and lion-dogs on the side panels, pine and cranes on the doors, a dragon on the front gable, and elephants on the wooden brackets. The well-preserved state of the shrine allows visitors to appreciate its details fully.