Ishiura Shrine

Ishiura Shrine (石浦神社) stands in Hondamachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on the central upland between the Saigawa and Asanogawa rivers, directly south of Kenrokuen Garden. Tradition holds that it was founded in the Kofun period through the settlement of the Miwa clan, who enshrined a branch spirit (wakemitama) of the great kami from Ōmiwa Shrine in Nara. The shrine served as one of the principal tutelary deities of the castle town under the patronage of the Maeda clan, lords of Kaga domain.

The principal enshrined kami (shusaijin) are seven in number: Ōmononushi-no-Okami, Ōyamatsumi-no-Okami, Kunado-no-Kami, Yamato-takeru-no-Mikoto, Ichikishimahime-no-Kami, Honda-wake-no-Mikoto (the Emperor Ojin), and Kukurihime-no-Kami. The shrine shares its lineage of worship with Ōmiwa Shrine through the veneration of Ōmononushi, whom the *Kojiki* records as the fortune-soul and mysterious-soul of Okuninushi.

During the medieval period, the shrine was known as Ishiurazan Jikōin Chōkokuji and operated as a syncretic kami-and-buddha sanctuary. Following the Maeda clan's patronage in 1598, it underwent Shinto-Buddhist separation (shinbutsu-bunri) during the Meiji period and was redesignated as Ishiura Shrine; its Buddhist temple structures were discontinued. In 1906 it was formally ranked as a rural shrine (kyōsha). The shrine precincts house the Hirosaka Inari branch shrine, dedicated to Ukanomitama, and the "reverse komainu" (inverted guardian lions). Today it forms part of Kanazawa's principal ritual sphere alongside Oyama Shrine and Kanazawa Shrine, and remains a popular sanctuary among locals.

Principal festivals include the spring rites (*matsuri*) on 15 April, summer festival on 1 August, and New Year ceremonies. The spring festival features a portable shrine procession through Kanazawa's streets.