Sekisemimaru Shrine

It is thought that Sekisemimaru Shrine was built to honor both the local Shinto god and the god of traveling because of its location here at the gateway to the Osaka Pass, through which both the Tokaido and the Tosando Roads pass. Divided into an upper and lower shrine, the upper shrine is dedicated to both the deity Sarutahiko and the spirit of the Japanese lute (biwa) master Sekisemimaru, and the lower to both Semimaru and the spirit of the goddess Princess Toyotama. Worshippers come to the shrine to pay for musical skill because of its dedication to the lute master Sekisemimaru.
The hexagonal “light rain lanterns” beside the lower shrine’s main worship hall are Important Cultural Properties that date to the Kamakura Period (1185-1333). A stone monument to the gate to the spring made famous in a poem by Ki no Tsurayuki also stands within the shrine grounds.