Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa-jinja

Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa-jinja in Saitama City is the ichinomiya of former Musashi Province and the head shrine of about 280 Hikawa shrines, with a sando avenue nearly two kilometers long, the longest shrine approach in Japan. The main deity is Susanoo no Mikoto, with his consort Inadahime no Mikoto and son Onamuchi no Mikoto enshrined alongside in a three-seat composition. Kojiki (712 CE) records Susanoo's defeat of Yamata no Orochi in the upper reaches of the Hi River in Izumo, after which he married Inadahime and founded the Suga palace; the shrine's name "Hikawa" derives from "Hi no Kawa." Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku records the granting of Jusanmi to the shrine in 869 CE. Engishiki Jinmyocho (927 CE) lists "Hikawa Jinja, Myojin-Taisha" of Adachi District in Musashi. Designated a chokusai-sha by Emperor Meiji in 1868 and raised to imperial shrine of major rank in 1871. The August 1 reisai and the December 10 Daito-sai are principal rites.