Futarasan Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the city of Nikkou founded by Holy Priest Shoudou. It enshrines three mountain deities: Ookuninushi, Tagorihime, and Ajisukitakahikone of Mt. Nantai (also called Mt. Futara), Mt. Nyohou, and Mt. Tarou.
Its main shrine (Honden) was built in 767, its middle shrine (Chuuguushi 
) in 784, and its rear shrine (Okumiya) in 782.
Also known as: Hakone Gengu, Hakone-jinja Motomiya
Hakone Mototsumiya, built at the summit of Komagatake, is the rear shrine of Hakone Shrine. It was rebuilt in 1964 by Tsutsumi Yasujirou.
Hakone Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, at the foot of Mt. Hakone along the shores of Lake Ashi. The shrine itself lies hidden in a dense forest, but its large red "floating" shrine gates (Torii of Peace) stand prominently in the lake.
From chronicles stretching back as far as the Nara Period (710-794), Hakone has been named as a spot sacred to the mountain-worshiping religion. The original shrine was founded during the reign of Emperor Koushou (475 BC – 393 BC) on Mt. Komagatake. Holy Priest Mangan revived and relocated the shrine to Lake Ashi in 757. It was separated into three parts dedicated to the deities whom legends says appeared to him in a dream as a Buddhist acolyte, government official and woman and asked him to deliver the grace of the Buddhist and Shinto religions onto mankind.
In the year 801, before general and shogun Sakanoue no Tamuramaro set out on an expedition to quell the Northeast by imperial command, he left an arrow as offering in front of a cedar tree at Hakone Shrine as a prayer for his victory. The tree become known as the Yatate Cedar, or 'Standing Arrow Cedar,' and in later years other legendary generals such as Minamoto no Yoshiie, shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo, and Minamoto no Yoshitsune all left arrows as offerings there.
The shrine was destroyed by fire in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Siege of Odawara and rebuilt by Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Also known as: Toyokuni Shrine (豊国神社)
A Shinto shrine built in 1599 in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto to commemorate and enshrine Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who died in Kyoto on September 18, 1598. The shrine in Kyoto holds Toyotomi's tomb, though there exist other Toyokuni shrines dedicated to Toyotomi in Osaka, Kanazawa, Nagoya, and Hatsukaichi.
Large festivals were held at the shrine to celebrate the anniversary of Toyotomi's apotheosis until June 1615, when Tokugawa Ieyasu closed the shrine "to discourage these unseemly displays of loyalty to a man he had eclipsed". The Meiji Emperor had the shrine restored in 1868, when it was slightly expanded to annex the nearby Houkou Temple, which Toyotomi had ordered to be constructed.
The shrine's Kara Mon (gate), a National Treasure of Japan, was said to have been moved from Fushimi Castle.
The Jinguu Gaien is the garden surrounding the Meiji Jinguu, which is the largest Shinto shrine in Tokyo. It is also called the Outer Garden, encompassing 70 acres of forest land with more than 100,000 trees from hundreds of species from all over Japan.
The Nine-Headed Dragon Shrine is a sub-shrine to Hakone Shrine. Though there are many shrine dedicated to the Dragon God throughout Japan, the Nine-Headed Dragon Shrine at Hakone is one of the most well-known. It is actually composed of two structures, the main one on the bank of Lake Ashi and another, newly constructed, within the Hakone Shrine complex.
The shrine worships the dragon god of Lake Ashi, formerly a poisonous nine-headed dragon, which was subdued by Holy Priest Mangan and became a guardian deity.
Also known as: Odawara Shouchinju (小田原総鎮守)
A shrine dedicated to the Shinto deities Yamatotakeru-no-Mikoto, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, and Ukanomitama-no-Kami, Matsubara Shrine prospered during the Sengoku under the protection of the Houjou Clan. It was called formerly Odawara Shouchinju, or "Shrine of the Odawara Tutelary Gods" and renamed Matsubara Shrine during the Meiji Period when Buddhism and Shintoism were separated by law.
Located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shouken. Originally dedicated in 1920, the shrine was destroyed by air raids in World War II. It was rebuilt using funds raised from the public and completed in October 1958.
Mizuya (Water-room) Shrine is a small shrine which sits between the main shrine of Sengen Grand Shrine and Wakutama Pond where a visitor can draw Mt. Fuji’s holy water.
The Nikkou Toushou Shrine is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, built in 1617 and located in Nikkou City. It is the most well-known and head of all Toushou Shrines. This is where Ieyasu's remains are entombed and where he is enshrined as a deity, the Great Toushou Avatar, guardian of Japan. It is one of the "Shrines and Temples of Nikkou", a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The shrine complex contains numerous National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. Famous structures include:
- Youmei ("Sun-Bright") Gate (陽明門), lavishly covered with brightly-colored carvings
- Sacred Stables
- The Five-Story Pagoda, rebuilt in 1818 after being destroyed by fire
- Hundreds of stone steps leading through Japanese cedar to a torii gate and the copper Treasure Pagoda containing Ieyasu's remains
- Kara Gate leading into the inner sanctuary
- The Sakashita Gate (坂下門), entrance to the inner shrine, also called the Forbidden Gate because it was barred to all but the shogun during the Edo Era. It was built in 1636 and remains virtually unaltered from that time.
- The Inuki Gate (鋳抜門), entrance to the stone fence-enclosed space which holds the Treasure Pagoda with Ieyasu's remains inside. Originally stone and rebuilt in the time of the 5th Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.
- The Treasure Pagoda (宝塔) which holds Ieyasu's remains. Originally constructed of stone, it was destroyed by earthquakes in the time of the 5th Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and rebuilt in copper.
The shrine is richly decorated with carvings and sculpture, including:
- The "three wise monkeys" (Sacred Stables) who hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil
- The "sleeping cat" (carved above the Kuguri Gate)
- The twelve zodiac animals (Five-Story Pagoda)
- 78 tapir, an imaginary creature with a long elephant-like nose and curled hairs on its neck
- Winged dragon (Holy Water Basin)
- 129 lions, with a pair guarding the Stone Fence
- Sparrows
- Soku-iki, a scaleless creature with curled hair on their necks and the nose of a pig (Yomei Gate)
Also known as: Toyokuni Shrine, Houkoku Shrine
A shrine on Itsuku Island which is a subordinate shrine to Itsuku Island Shrine. Its area encompasses 857 tatami mats, which appears to be how it got its popular name (Senjou = 1,000 tatami). It was founded as a grand library by Ankokuji Ekei at Toyotomi Hideyoshi's command based on Hideyoshi's desire to read a thousand sutras. Its ceiling and outer structure were only completed after Hideyoshi's death.
A shrine located in Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture. Its enshrined deity is Amanohirinome-no-mikoto.
Toushou Shrines (lit. "Light of the East" or "Illumination of the East") are Shinto shrines in which Tokugawa Ieyasu is enshrined as a holy incarnation of a buddha along the shinbutsu shuugou (merging of Shintoism and Buddhism) beliefs, which put forth the idea that Japanese gods are local manifestations of Indian buddhas come to lead the Japanese people to salvation. Ieyasu is worshiped as such a deity, and around 130 Toushou Shrines are still in existence in Japan.
The Toushou Shrine in Nikkou, the most famous of the Toushou Shrines, was built in 1617 and dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu when his son Tokugawa Hidetada was shogun of Japan. Five structures in the shrine complex are National Treasures of Japan. A bronze urn enshrined there contains Ieyasu's remains.
Another Toushou Shrine is located in the city of Shizuoka in Shizuoka Prefecture on Mount Kunou. It was Ieyasu's original burial site and thus the oldest Toushou Shrine in the country.
A third Toushou Shrine is located on Mt. Hourai in Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture. It was built by the third Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, and completed in 1651.
These three shrines are known as the 'Three Great Toushou Shrines.'
In total there around around fifty Toushou Shrines around Japan, including:
- Shiba Toushou Shrine located in Minato Ward, Tokyo
- Nagoya Toushou Shrine located in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture
- Sendai Toushou Shrine located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture
Lit.: "Four Pillars Shrine"; a Shinto shrine located in Matsumoto, built in 1872, dedicated to the four gods Amenominakanushinokami, Takamimusubi, Kamimusubi, and Amaterasu Oomikami.
