AreaMatsushima Bay
Okama-Jinja Shrine
御釜神社 | Okama Shrine
One of the Three Great Miracles of Japan
Photo by Shiogama-Jinja Shrine
AreaMatsushima Bay
御釜神社 | Okama Shrine
One of the Three Great Miracles of Japan
Photo by Shiogama-Jinja Shrine
This unassuming shrine is named for its four metal cauldrons which have been used since ancient times to make salt. The cauldrons are designated one of the Three Great Miracles of Japan. The color of the water in these cauldrons is said to change before disasters, a belief so prevalent that during the Edo period the shrine was ordered to inform the rulers of the Sendai Domain whenever there was a change in color. It is even said that the color of the water changed just before the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Okama Jinja enshrines Shiotsuchi Oji no Kami, the god who taught humans how to make salt. An sacred salt-making ritual is held here on July 6 every year, a tradition which has continued for one thousand years.
WEBSITEhttp://www.shiogamajinja.jp/topics/201807moshioyaki.html
Matsushima Bay
ADDRESS
6-1 Motomachi, Shiogama-shi, Miyagi-ken 985-0052
ACCESS BY PUBLIC TRANSIT
15-minute walk from Hon-Shiogama Station (Senseki Line)
ADMISSION
Free
LANGUAGES
Japanese only
HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE
Yes
PHONE
022-367-1611