Yasaka-jinja

Introduction

Yasaka Shrine in Gion, Higashiyama, Kyoto, Japan, is the head shrine of roughly 2,300 Gion-faith shrines nationwide. Formerly called Gion-sha or Kanshin-in, it enshrines Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Kushinadahime and their eight children, and has been venerated since the Heian period as a shrine that quells epidemics. Its vermilion West Gate, closing the vista down Shijō Street, is among the most reproduced images of the city. The main hall uses the rare Gion-zukuri form in which worship hall and sanctuary shelter beneath a single great roof; rebuilt in 1654 by the shogun Ietsuna, it was designated a National Treasure in 2020. Many auxiliary shrines fill the grounds: Utsukushi-Gozen-sha offers 'beauty water' said to smooth the skin, and Ōkuninushi-sha is prayed to for love, while hundreds of merchant-donated lanterns ring the dance stage and glow after dark. The Gion Matsuri, first of Kyoto's three great festivals, begins here each July with a month of float processions, and the New Year's Okera-mairi fire rite has been kept for a thousand years.

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