Recommendation Sightseeing Spots

Yamaguchi Daijingu Shinto Shrine is an offshoot of Ise Jingu, one of Shinto’s holiest and most important sites. The Inner Shrine at Ise Jingu is the chief place of worship of the sun goddess Amaterasu, the principal deity in the Shinto pantheon. Ouchi Yoshioki, one of the heads of the Ouchi clan that ruled Yamaguchi from the 14th to 16th century, built Yamaguchi Daijingu in 1520. Until the Meiji era (1868–1912), it was the only Shinto shrine in the country besides the Inner Shrine at Ise Jingu to officially enshrine the spirit of Amaterasu. Because of this, during the Edo period (1603–1868) it attracted numerous worshipers from across western Japan who could not visit the far away Ise Jingu.