Hisaizu-jinja Shrine

One of the largest shrines in Saitama, this shrine was very important for the Shogunate of the Edo period. The famous Toshogu shrine to the north in Nikko was frequently visited by the Shogun and his entourage. Hisaizu-jinja Shrine sits at just about the halfway point between Tokyo (Called “Edo” in those days) and Nikko, thus being an important stop on the journey by foot.

These days, the shrine is still regarded by people all across Saitama as a point of historical pride. Shrine-goers frequently walk the forested entryway to make their own prayers and requests at the main shrine altar. This shrine is a popular one for prayers of a healthy birth for expecting mothers. However, Hisaizu-jinja Shrine houses many kami or gods within its single shrine grounds. For example, there is a small version of the famous shrine in Kyoto Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine off to one side. This is often true of shrines in Japan because the residents of a certain area do not necessarily have time to journey across Japan to make their prayers to specific kami. While it may be easier now with bullet trains and buses, hundreds of years ago, people may have never gotten the chance to visit Kyoto even once in their lives, so the nearby shrine gave them that opportunity.

Aside from the beautiful craftsmanship, and lush nature in harmony with the shrine grounds, a neat thing about this shrine is the peacocks strutting around! That’s right, in the 1930’s, an important figure in the imperial family, gifted the shrine with three peacocks. The shrine priests were honored, and revered peacocks as protectors of Iwatsuki. As a symbol of the shrine and the Iwatsuki area, the peacocks have grown to about 20 in number, and roam freely on the shrine grounds.