Kashima jinja

1. omiyasan.com/
2. south
3. ookuwa

The area around the shrine is like a mountain inn town along the national highway that runs through Ōkuwa Village. Surrounded by a thick cedar grove, the sacred tree designated as a village cultural property is over 800 years old. At the entrance, there is a plain wooden torii gate.

On the left, there's a hand-washing pavilion with water coming out of a faucet, and in front is the worship hall. Under the eaves of the gable roof structure, the frog-leg struts feature carvings of the White Rabbit of Inaba on white waves, which are quite striking.

Three auxiliary shrines are placed beside it, and the main shrine is built on the slope behind. It is enclosed in a shed, so the interior details are unknown, but it was built in the early Edo period and is also designated as a cultural property of the village.

On the south side of the shrine grounds, there is an auxiliary shrine dedicated to Katori Shrine. Originally, it was the main shrine of Kashima Shrine and is now housed in a shed. The entire structure is painted black and red, with a simple design and few carvings.