Isasumi Shrine

Isasumi Shrine stands in the southern Aizu Basin, on the south bank of the Aga River in what is now Aizu Misato town, Fukushima Prefecture. It is counted among the two highest-ranking shrines of Mutsu Province (though its status as 'first shrine' of the province is disputed) and serves as the tutelary shrine of the entire Aizu region.

The shrine's principal enshrined kami are Izanagi-no-Okami and Izanami-no-Okami. According to the *Kojiki* (*Records of Ancient Matters*, 712 CE), these two deities created the islands of Japan. Shrine tradition holds that the shrine was founded when two imperial commanders—Ōbiko-no-Mikoto (dispatched to the Hokuriku region) and Takenunakawa-no-Mikoto (dispatched to the Tōkaidō region)—met in Aizu during the reign of Emperor Suinin and enshrined the two deities at that location. This meeting is recorded in local tradition as the origin of the place-name 'Aizu'.

Isasumi Shrine is grouped with Awaji's Izanagi Grand Shrine and Ōmi's Taga Grand Shrine as major centres of Izanagi and Izanami worship. Its first documentary appearance is in the *Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku* (*Record of Three Imperial Reigns*, 884 CE). The shrine is listed in the *Engishiki* (*Procedures of the Engi Era*, 927 CE) Register of Shrines as a shrine of the highest rank.

During the medieval period, the shrine received patronage from the Ashina clan, lords of Aizu. In the early modern period (Edo era), it was venerated by the Matsudaira lords of Aizu Domain. In 1885 it was designated a State-supported shrine of the middle rank.

The principal annual festivals are the rice-planting rite (*otauegusai*) held on 12 July—one of three major Aizu planting rituals and a repository of medieval liturgical practice—and the Double Ninth Festival on 9 September. A fire in 2008 destroyed the main hall and other buildings; reconstruction is ongoing.