Isaniwa Shrine

Isaniwa Shrine (*Isaniwa Jinja*) stands on a high terrace in Sakuradani-chō, Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, about 300 metres east of the Dōgo Onsen main bathhouse. A shrine listed in the *Engishiki* Register of Shrines (927 CE) as "Isaniwa Shrine" in Iyo Province's Onsen District, it serves as the principal tutelary shrine of the Dōgo hot-spring area. Its social rank is that of a former Prefectural Shrine.

The main hall (honden) dates to 1667, commissioned by Matsudaira Sadanaga, daimyo of Matsuyama, and is constructed in the Hachiman architectural style—a form shared with only two other shrines in Japan: Usa Grand Shrine (Ōita Prefecture) and Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine (Kyoto Prefecture). The honden is designated a National Treasure; the subsidiary halls and surrounding galleries are designated Important Cultural Properties.

The principal enshrined kami are Emperor Chūai, Empress Jingū, Emperor Ojin (known as Hachiman-no-Okami), and the Three-Deity Hime-no-Okami. The shrine belongs to the Hachiman faith lineage, centred on the veneration of Emperor Ojin. According to the *Nihon Shoki* (Chronicles of Japan, 720 CE), Empress Jingū is recorded as having visited the Dōgo hot springs during her campaign in Silla; this account forms the founding history of the shrine.

The approach to the shrine involves climbing 135 stone steps from the approach path (sando). The shrine stands within the Dōgo historic district, adjoining Dōgo Park (site of former Yuzuki Castle) and Ishite Temple.

The autumn festival on 6–7 October is the largest in Matsuyama, featuring a sacred palanquin procession through the Dōgo district. The shrine also observes New Year rites on 1 January and exorcism ceremonies during the spring season-change festival.