Sai Shrine

Sai Shrine, formally Sai-ni-masu-Omiwa-aramitama-jinja, located in Miwa, Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture, is a sub-shrine of Omiwa Shrine. The principal deity is Omiwa-no-Aramitama-no-Kami, the rough soul of Omononushi. The shrine stands at the western foot of Mt. Miwa at the headwaters of the Sai River and houses the Kusuriido sacred spring, drawn by worshippers as healing water. The entrance to the climbing route up Mt. Miwa, the sacred mountain of Omiwa Shrine, lies within the precincts. Attendant deities include Omononushi-no-Kami, Hime-tatara-Isuzu-hime-no-Mikoto (consort of Jinmu Tenno), Seyadatarahime-no-Mikoto (her mother), and Kotoshironushi-no-Kami. The Jinmu eastern campaign chapter of the middle book of the Kojiki records that the daughter of Omononushi and Seyadatarahime became Hime-tatara-Isuzu-hime, the consort of Jinmu, providing the Miwa genealogy reflected in the shrine's configuration. It is recorded in the Engishiki Jinmyocho of 927 as a Myojin Taisha of Shikinokami District, Yamato Province. The Hana-shizume-no-Matsuri on April 18, recorded already in the Ryo-no-gige of 833, is an ancient rite of warding off epidemics.