Kakinomoto Jinja Shrine
The enshrined deity is KAKINOMOTO no Hitomaro*, a poet appearing in “Manyoshu,” Japan’s oldest existing collection of waka poems believed to have been compiled in the 8th century.
*KAKIMOTO no Hitomaro was a Japanese waka poet and aristocrat of the late Asuka period (538-710).
It is said that the shrine started when the tomb of Hitomaro, who died in Iwami Province (Masuda City, Shimane prefecture), was moved in 770, and a shrine pavilion was built beside it.
The “Chinponkanpon-sai Festival” takes place on April 18 every year, the death day of Hitomaro, together with Yogenji Temple next to the shrine.
There is a burial mound associated with KAKINOMOTO no Hitomaro, who composed a waka poem depicting Mt. Katsuragi.
