Oasahiko Shrine

Oasahiko Shrine (大麻比古神社) is a Shinto shrine in Bando, Oasa-cho, Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture, the first-ranked shrine of the former Awa Province. The principal kami are Oasahiko-no-Okami and Sarutahiko-no-Okami, the former regarded as the ancestral deity of the Awa-Imbe clan recorded in the Kogo-shui as the son of Ame-no-Hiwashi who brought hemp and grain cultivation to Awa, and the latter recorded in the Kojiki (712 CE) as the road-guiding deity who led Ninigi-no-Mikoto in the heavenly descent. According to shrine tradition, the founding dates to the reign of Emperor Jimmu, when Ame-no-Tomi-no-Mikoto led the Awa-Imbe to settle the region. The shrine is listed as a Myojin-Taisha in the Engishiki Jinmyocho (927 CE) and stands a short walk from Ryozen-ji, the first temple of the Shikoku 88, where pilgrims traditionally pray before and after the circuit.