Awashima Shrine

Awashima Shrine is located in Kada, Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture, and is presumed to be an Engishiki-listed shrine; its former rank was township shrine. It serves as the principal shrine of the Awashima, Awajima, and Awaji shrine network throughout Japan, and is widely known as a centre for doll consecration. The precincts contain a distinctive landscape of approximately twenty thousand dolls, donated from across the country.

The shrine sits at the northern end of Kada Port in the Kami Abe district of Kii Province, overlooking the Kitan Strait. From the shrine, Awaji Island (Hyogo Prefecture) is visible across the Tomogashima Channel. The site lies at a historic junction of the Kitan maritime route. Together with Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine (Osaka) and Ikuta Shrine (Kobe), it forms part of the sea-deity worship sphere of the eastern Seto region.

The principal enshrined kami (shusaijin) are Sukunabiko-no-Mikoto, Ōnamuji-no-Mikoto (also known as Okuninushi), and Okinagatarashi-Hime-no-Mikoto (identified with Empress Jingū). According to the *Kojiki* (Records of Ancient Matters, 712 CE), Sukunabiko-no-Mikoto appears in the upper scroll as a small kunitsukami (earthly kami) who joined Okuninushi in the fashioning of the land, and is venerated as a deity of medicine, brewing, and hot springs. The *Nihon Shoki* (Chronicles of Japan, 720 CE) records that Empress Jingū, returning from her campaign in the Three Kingdoms, encountered a storm off Kada and landed on Awaji Island, where she is said to have established the shrine by enshrining Sukunabiko-no-Mikoto. The shrine maintains ritual connections with Iwasaka Shrine, an auxiliary shrine of Ōmiwa Shrine that also enshrines Sukunabiko-no-Mikoto, and with Kashii Shrine (Fukuoka), which continues the Empress Jingū tradition.

According to shrine tradition, its founding dates to Empress Jingū's landing and enshrinement of Sukunabiko-no-Mikoto; the shrine is said to have been moved to its present location during the reign of Emperor Nintoku. In the *Engishiki* (Procedures of the Engi Era, 927 CE), the entry for Kami Abe district of Kii Province lists "Kada Shrine", which some scholars identify as the shrine in question. During the Edo period, wandering preacher-monks called "Awashima ganin" (Awashima persuaders) travelled throughout Japan promoting Awashima worship, which expanded to encompass protection of women and healing of women's ailments. The shrine was designated a township shrine during the Meiji period.

The principal festival is the Hinagarashi (doll-floating) rite held on 3 March, during which donated hina dolls from across the country are placed in white wooden boats and released into the waters off Kada. This rite represents the central expression of both doll consecration practice and the belief in the shrine's protective power over women.