• 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. A sacred salt-making ritual is held here on July 6 every year, a tradition which has continued for one thousand years.

  • Last Update
    October 31, 2023

    Area Matsushima Bay

Details

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

OFFICIAL URL

http://www.shiogamajinja.jp/topics/202307moshioyaki.html