Touring the Six Sagami Konomachi Shrines

Touring the Six Sagami Konomachi Shrines

From the 7th century onward, new governors arriving from the capital were required to tour the major shrines in their province, in the prescribed order, to pray for peace and abundant harvests in the land. Over history, the deities from those shrines were brought together near the provincial capital into a shrine called sosha, or “combined shrine,” so people could worship them all without physically going to each one. In Sagami Province, there were five shrines that the governor was required to visit, while Rokusho Jinja was the designated sosha; today, those six shrines still come together every year in the Konomachi Festival. Venture around the former province of Sagami and tour the six shrines as the governor once did while steeping yourself in history and the enduring power of the divine.

First Shrine Samukawa Jinja (Samukawa town)
Second Shrine Kawawa Jinja (Ninomiya town)
Third Shrine Hibita Jinja (Isehara city)
Fourth Shrine Sakitori Jinja (Hiratsuka city)
Provincial Hachiman Shrine Hiratsuka Hachimangu (Hiratsuka city)
Provincial Combined Shrine (Sosha) Rokusho Jinja (Oiso town)