Nishina Shinmei-gu Shrine

Nishina Shinmei-gu in Omachi, Nagano, stands in the Yashiro district at the eastern foot of the Northern Alps. Its main hall, hall of suspended offerings and middle gate together form the oldest surviving Shinmei-zukuri shrine architecture in Japan and were designated a National Treasure in 1953. The shrine enshrines Amaterasu Omikami together with Toyouke and Takuhata Chiji-hime, replicating the Ise pantheon. Tradition holds that the Nishina clan, who managed the area as an Ise Shrine estate (mikuriya) in the early Heian period, invited the deities from the Inner Shrine at Ise. The shikinen sengu rebuilding cycle on a 20-year rhythm in imitation of Ise has been preserved since the medieval period and is a designated Nagano prefectural folk cultural property.