The highest-ranked shrine in the land of Hōki—the one regarded as the ichinomiya (first/highest-ranked shrine) of Hōki Province—is Shitori Shrine. It sits in the Miyauchi district of Yurihama, looking out over Lake Tōgō. This is a shrine connected to ancient weaving and mythology, quite apart from the tales of ogres and famous swords.

What is Shitori Shrine, the ichinomiya of Hōki Province?

The characters for “Shitori” are hard to read, but they are pronounced “Shitori” (also “Shizuri”). The name comes from the Shitoribe (weaver guild), the group of craftsmen who made the ancient woven cloth known as shizu-ori. The shrine is said to have begun as a place enshrining Takehazuchi-no-Mikoto, who is held to be the ancestral deity of that guild.

As the name suggests, it was originally a shrine to the god of weaving. From there it came to be the ichinomiya of Hōki Province, long revered by the people of the land.

The connection to the Izumo cultural sphere

This shrine also enshrines another deity, Shitateruhime-no-Mikoto. Shitateruhime is a goddess said to be the daughter of Ōkuninushi-no-Mikoto, the god of Izumo.

According to tradition, Shitateruhime is said to have crossed the sea from the direction of Izumo to come to this land. Izumo and Hōki were neighboring cultural spheres linked by the sea, and their myths and beliefs traveled back and forth. Shitori Shrine is one of the shrines that carries that “connection to Izumo” down to the present day.

Faith in safe childbirth and Shitateruhime

From the tradition that Shitateruhime-no-Mikoto had a safe childbirth in this land, Shitori Shrine has gathered worshippers as a deity of safe childbirth. Even now, people come without end to pray for an easy delivery.

What is more, the Heian-period relics (such as a sutra cylinder) unearthed from the sutra mound near the shrine have been designated a National Treasure. From ancient times through the Heian period and on to today, this is a place where faith has settled in layers.

Sources & references