Suwa Taisha Kamisha Honmiya

Suwa Taisha Kamisha Honmiya stands in Nakasu Miyayama, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture, and is the main upper shrine of the four Suwa Taisha precincts and the ichinomiya of Shinano Province. The main enshrined deity is Takeminakata-no-Kami, who is recorded in the Kojiki (712 CE) Land-of-Reeds pacification section as the son of Okuninushi-no-Kami who, after a contest of strength with Takemikazuchi-no-Kami, retreated to Suwa and vowed never to leave. The shrine is listed in the Engishiki (927 CE) jinmyocho of the Suwa district as "Minakatatomi-jinja niza," with myojin taisha status. The honmiya has no honden and instead worships Mount Moriya directly as its shintai, preserving an archaic kannabi mountain-worship form. The honmiya's offering hall, rebuilt in 1835, is an Important Cultural Property, and the once-every-six-years Onbashira festival is widely known.