Yoshino Mikumari Shrine
Yoshino Mikumari Shrine
Yoshino Mikumari Shrine
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
81 reviews
Excellent
30
Very good
35
Average
16
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Irlantilainen
Jyväskylä, Finland503 contributions
Oct 2019
Even by Japanese standards, this shrine is wonderfully atmospheric.
I stopped by to rest on the long hike down from the summit, and sat alone, entranced, by the quiet charm.
Worth a journey.
I stopped by to rest on the long hike down from the summit, and sat alone, entranced, by the quiet charm.
Worth a journey.
Written November 27, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Weak Knee Traveler
Singapore, Singapore12,833 contributions
Apr 2018 • Solo
Chanced upon this very traditional shrine while taking a stroll down the mountain from the top. Not crowded at all. Worth a visit.
Written April 14, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ustaza
Hong Kong103 contributions
Apr 2017 • Couples
We saw this lovely place on our long walk down from the top of the mountain. Inside it seems to have more calm than some of the other shrines and temples. It centres around a beautiful flowering tree. I paid 300 yen to have some stamps pressed into my travel book and then a calligrapher wrote some script in Japanese to remind me of where I had been.Just charming. The whole walk down the mountain in Springtime is sakura overload but this little oasis was so worth visiting.
Written April 14, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kimitaka S
Taichung, Taiwan15,193 contributions
Apr 2016
Mikumari Shrine is a small,but lovely old shrine in Yoshino. To reach this site, you have to walk a lot by passing Naka-Senbun and Kami-Senbun areas. This is why many tourists seem to give up visiting it. I think, however, walking through country road is quite pleasant and healthy.
Written June 29, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
japanfan2016
Fukuoka, Japan43 contributions
Nov 2017
The Yoshino Mikumari Shrine is one of four Shinto shrines in the former province Yamato dedicated to Mikumari (also Ame-no-mikumari-no-ōkami), a female deity, associated with water, fertility and safe birth.
Like in allmost every shrine there are also some less important deities: Takami-musubi-no-kami, Sukuna-hiko-no-kami, Mikogami, Ama-tsu-hiko-hi-no-ninigi-no-mikoto, Tamayori-hime-no-mikoto, and Yorozu-hata-toyo-akitsushi-hime-no-mikoto. A wooden statue of the deity Tamayori-hime made during the Kamakura period is registered as a National Treasure of Japan (not on display).
The main hall (honden) is an unusual structure with three edifices all lying under the same bark roof.The central edifice is dedicated to Mikumari, the other two edifices are housing the sub-deities.
The present-day buildings go back to 1605, when Toyotomi Hideyori rebuilt the shrine, as his father Toyotomi Hideyoshi (a war lord who united Japan) had prayed here for a son and successor.
The name mikumari refers to the distribution (kubari) of water (mizu) by the main deity. Since the Heian Period Mikumari became also the protector of children as there is a phonetic similarity to mikomori (protect children). There are votive offerings such as photos, baby clothes etc. showing that even today people come up to this remote place to pray for children.
In 2004, the shrine was designated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.
Like in allmost every shrine there are also some less important deities: Takami-musubi-no-kami, Sukuna-hiko-no-kami, Mikogami, Ama-tsu-hiko-hi-no-ninigi-no-mikoto, Tamayori-hime-no-mikoto, and Yorozu-hata-toyo-akitsushi-hime-no-mikoto. A wooden statue of the deity Tamayori-hime made during the Kamakura period is registered as a National Treasure of Japan (not on display).
The main hall (honden) is an unusual structure with three edifices all lying under the same bark roof.The central edifice is dedicated to Mikumari, the other two edifices are housing the sub-deities.
The present-day buildings go back to 1605, when Toyotomi Hideyori rebuilt the shrine, as his father Toyotomi Hideyoshi (a war lord who united Japan) had prayed here for a son and successor.
The name mikumari refers to the distribution (kubari) of water (mizu) by the main deity. Since the Heian Period Mikumari became also the protector of children as there is a phonetic similarity to mikomori (protect children). There are votive offerings such as photos, baby clothes etc. showing that even today people come up to this remote place to pray for children.
In 2004, the shrine was designated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.
Written December 22, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BryanBaier
Osaka, Japan120 contributions
Aug 2015 • Business
Yoshino Mikumari Shrine is not large but the architecture of its buildings and its brightly painted and beautifully decorated Sakuramon Gate are magnificent. The stories of its deities and of famous visitors to the shrine (like samurai general Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his son Hideyori) are also amazing. Most mysterious and intriguing to me is the statue of an owl that graces a recess on the inside of the Sakuramon Gate. According to one of the shrine maidens it has no tie to any of the deities at all and is simply a beautiful piece of art that was donated to the shrine. Why then is it in a space normally occupied by a guard deity, I wonder?
Written September 3, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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