Skip to content
Reference material on Japan's regions, culture and sightseeing / Please check opening days, prices and other details with the latest information from each source.

Value Village

Omiwa Jinja

Nara · Sakurai · Shrines & Temples

Japanese name: 大神神社

Save or plan with this entry
View on map →Plan an AI itinerary
Omiwa Jinja
Photo: Saigen Jiro / CC0 · Source ↗
WHAT TO DOOmiwa Jinja

It has no main hall: Mount Miwa itself is the deity. One of the oldest shrines in Japan, keeping the form of belief that came before worshipping a building. Miwa somen is said to have spread from the method handed down in this shrine's priestly family.

WHERENara

Chuwa · Sakurai

CHECK BEFORE YOU GOCheck before visiting

Check opening days, fees, reservations, photography rules and seasonal conditions with official information.

Instagram posts about this place

Posts whose hashtags match this place. Tap a photo or name to open the poster's Instagram.

See it on Instagram

Hashtags made from this place's name. Japanese hashtags are shown as written so that they match posts on Instagram. Each opens the tag page on Instagram in a new tab.

Overview

It has no main hall: Mount Miwa itself is the deity. One of the oldest shrines in Japan, keeping the form of belief that came before worshipping a building. Miwa somen is said to have spread from the method handed down in this shrine's priestly family.

About this place

Ōmiwa Shrine (大神神社, Ōmiwa-jinja), also known as Miwa Shrine (三輪神社, Miwa-jinja; alternately written as Miwa-myōjin (三輪明神)), is a Shinto shrine located in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is notable because it contains no sacred images or objects, since it is believed to serve Mount Miwa, the mountain on which it stands. For the same reason, it has a worship hall (拝殿, haiden), but no place for the deity to be housed (神殿, shinden). In this sense, it is a model of what the first Shinto shrines were like. Ōmiwa Shrine is one of the oldest extant Shinto shrines in Japan and the site has been sacred ground for some of the earliest religious practices in Japan. Because of this, it has sometimes been named as Japan's first shrine. Ōmiwa Shrine is a tutelary shrine of the Japanese sake brewers.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗

Key facts

Founded:Unknown (among the oldest in Japan) Shrine rank:Ichinomiya of Yamato Province Designation:Important Cultural Property Blessings:Matchmaking, Business prosperity, Mountain worship

Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗

Official website

Check the official website for current opening hours, fees and closing days.

Open the official website ↗

Source oomiwa.or.jp ↗

Before you go

Three questions from the World Question Box that relate to this entry.

Same place in other collections

More in Shrines & Temples

See all in this category

Check before you visit · References

The original sources are listed here. Confirm opening hours, whether visits are accepted, fees and access with the latest official information.

Crafts and specialties of this prefecture

Crafts & industrySpecialties & souvenirs

Written by Value Village from public sources. Nothing here is reproduced from another site. Languages: ja / en / zh