Behind the great hall,
and beyond the beach.

Izumo Taisha's charm isn't confined to the great hall alone. There's Sogasha, standing quietly just behind it; Inochinushi-sha, settled in a grove near the grounds; Inasa Beach, the setting for the Kuniyuzuri myth; and Hinomisaki Shrine, where black-tailed gulls flock to a small island offshore. These are the stories of the small sacred sites that surround the Grand Shrine.

The hall of Sogasha, standing atop stone steps at the foot of Mt. Yakumo — Sogasha, standing before Mt. Yakumo

Directly Behind the Great Hall

Sogasha — dedicated to Okuninushi's father, and a faith built on sacred sand.

Directly behind the great hall of Izumo Taisha, at the foot of Mt. Yakumo, stands a small shrine called "Sogasha." Its enshrined deity is Susanoo, father of Okuninushi. Its position right behind the great hall alone suggests how carefully this shrine has been treated as something special.

Sogasha carries a distinctive practice of its own. Visitors first purify and bring back sand from Inasa Beach, then exchange it for "osuna" — sacred sand — kept beneath the floor of Sogasha. This sand, once received, is said to purify and protect a home when scattered around its grounds — linking Inasa Beach, Sogasha, and the great hall of Izumo Taisha into a single circuit of faith in which the worshipper themselves plays a part in the "musubi," the bond.

A Grove Near the Grounds

Inochinushi-sha — a magatama bead and a bronze halberd, found beneath a great tree's roots.

East of Izumo Taisha, near the Mani-i spring, stands an old shrine called "Inochinushi-sha." Its enshrined deity is Kamimusuhi-no-kami, one of the three creator deities who appear at the very opening of the Kojiki, at the dawn of heaven and earth. Behind the shrine towers a great Japanese zelkova tree, said to be some 1,000 years old, giving the site a distinctive presence.

In 1665, during construction work on the shrine building, a large curved bead (magatama) made of jadeite and a bronze halberd (doka) were discovered nearby. Believed to date back to the Yayoi period, these artifacts are valuable evidence that the area around Inochinushi-sha has served as a site of ritual practice since ancient times.

A great zelkova tree with a thick trunk towering beside Inochinushi-sha — The great zelkova tree of Inochinushi-shaIzumo Taisha grounds

A close-up of the intricately intertwined roots at the base of the zelkova tree — The base of the zelkova treeEstimated at 1,000 years old

A faded, flaking fragment of an old votive painting depicting a figure — A fragment of an old votive painting handed down here (illustrative)

Setting of the Myths

Inasa Beach — two stories in one, the Kuniyuzuri and the god-welcoming.

About a kilometer west of Izumo Taisha lies Inasa Beach, already mentioned several times on this site as one of Izumo's foremost sacred sites. As seen on the "Okuninushi and the Kuniyuzuri Myth" page, this is the beach where Takemikazuchi is said to have descended to demand the ceding of the land, and it's also where the Kamimukae god-welcoming rite covered on the "Kamiarizuki" page begins.

On the beach stands a small rocky islet called "Bentenjima," topped with a small shrine dedicated to Toyotama- hiko. At dusk, the sun can be seen setting into the Sea of Japan beyond Bentenjima, making this a favorite spot among photographers.

"Izumo, the Sacred Land Where the Sun Sets": In 2017, Izumo City's coastal area — including Inasa Beach and Hinomisaki Shrine as its constituent sites — was certified by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as a Japan Heritage site under the title "Izumo, the Sacred Land Where the Sun Sets."

Bentenjima, a small torii gate standing atop a rock beyond the sandy beach — BentenjimaInasa Beach

A stone marker inscribed 'Inasa Beach,' with Bentenjima visible beyond it — The stone marker at Inasa BeachSetting of the Kamimukae rite

A Sacred Site Out to Sea

Hinomisaki Shrine and Fumishima — "the shrine where the sun sets," and an island of gulls.

Northwest along the coast from Izumo Taisha, at Hinomisaki, stands Hinomisaki Shrine. This shrine, known for its beautiful vermilion halls, consists of an upper and lower shrine: the upper hall, "Kami-no-Miya," enshrines Susanoo, while the lower hall, "Hishizumi-no-Miya" — the Shrine of the Setting Sun — enshrines Amaterasu. That the hall dedicated to Amaterasu, the sun goddess, is named "the Shrine of the Setting Sun" reflects a form of local faith distinctive to this region, one that links the sun goddess to the sun setting into the western sea.

Offshore from Hinomisaki Shrine floats a small uninhabited island called "Fumishima." Known as a major breeding ground for black-tailed gulls, the island is designated a natural monument of Japan. Each year around November, large numbers of gulls arrive, and by early summer the island turns nearly white with their numbers amid a chorus of calls. Landing on the island is normally forbidden, as it is sacred ground, but the scene can be viewed from the heights of Hinomisaki or from a sightseeing boat.

The vermilion-lacquered gate hall of Hinomisaki Shrine — The beautiful vermilion gate hall of Hinomisaki Shrine

A land where the gods gather deserves a cuisine to match.

The legend behind "zenzai," said to originate with Kamiarizuki, warikko soba, Izumo's signature style of buckwheat noodles, and the shijimi clams of Lake Shinji. Let's trace the food culture rooted in this land of faith.