Takeo Shrine

Takeo Shrine is the oldest shrine in the city and is also called Takeo Gosha Daimyojin.

Behind the shrine, there is a huge tree called “Takeo no Ookusu,” which is 3,000 years old and is revered as the sacred tree of Takeo Shrine.

The shrine is majestic and was founded in the Heian period (794-1185) and is located on the hillside of Mt. Mifune. It is dedicated to Takeuchi Shukugi, and is also known as the place where Minamoto no Yoritomo prayed for victory in battle.

Big camphor tree

At the rear of Takeo Shrine stands a 3,000-year-old camphor tree, the root of which is dedicated to the god Tenjin. The circumference of the root of this giant camphor tree is about 26 meters and its height is about 27 meters, making it so large that just looking at it gives one a solemn feeling that makes one’s heart tremble. It is definitely worth a visit.

Takeo Shrine is known for its more than 3,000-year-old camphor trees and Meoto Hinoki cypress. From the main shrine of Takeo Shrine, visitors can follow a path surrounded by bamboo groves to encounter a 3,000-year-old giant camphor tree. Its massive form is firmly rooted to the ground, and its presence is breathtaking. It is a powerful presence that gives strength to those who see it. The root of the camphor tree is dedicated to Tenjin-sama, the god of heaven.

Takeo Shrine is located at the eastern foot of Mt. Mifune in Takeo-cho, Takeo City, Saga Prefecture, and is the oldest shrine in the city. The main deity is Takeuchi Shukune, and the shrine is so venerable that ancient documents dating from the mid-Heian period to the end of the Muromachi period have been preserved. The shrine’s torii gate, called Hizen torii, has a unique banana shape and is considered very valuable in the history of stone culture.

Takeo Shrine is located in Takeo-cho, Takeo City, Saga Prefecture, and sits at the foot of Mt. Mifune. The shrine is famous for its sacred camphor tree, which is said to be 3,000 years old.

Historically, the shrine was founded in 735 by the first Shinto priest, Yukiyori Ban, who received an oracle and presented it to the Imperial Court through the Dazaifu, enshrining four deities with Takeuchi Shukune as the main deity.

In the Heian period (794-1185), this shrine was regarded as a fussha of “Dazaifu,” the local administrative body of the Kyushu region, and it also served as the town-keeper of Kishima County, with festivals and other ceremonies held there with visits by envoys of the state. As evidence of this, as many as 218 old documents, called Takeo Shrine Documents, are still in existence.

In the Gen’ei era (around 1118-1120), when Goto Shishige became the lord of Takeo, he requested the Imperial Court to build Tsukazaki Castle and relocated the Company to the eastern foot of Hegetake (the current location).

In addition, after the Battle of Dannoura in 1185, Minamoto no Yoritomo prayed for the Heike to be driven out, and after the Heike were destroyed, he dispatched an imperial envoy and a representative of his household to the shrine by the Emperor Go-Toba, who sent an imperial edict and expressed his deep gratitude. In welcoming this visit, Muneaki Goto (the fourth lord of Takeo) dedicated horseback archery, which is why the Yabusame archery ritual is still held today. After this time, the relationship between Takeo Shrine and the Genji clan became closer, and the shrine was given the role of performing prayers for the Shogun’s family as the Kanto Prayer Center. These matters are recorded in Takeo Shrine documents.

Facilities on the shrine grounds
Ichino-torii (Hizen-torii) was built in 1641 by Shigekazu Nabeshima, lord of Takeo. It is 4.7 meters high, with 2.7 meters between pillars and 5.8 meters in length. The left pillar is inscribed with the inscription, “Senpai shiminmiya goken ho hachibuseki dairaku no kisho jyuuban zenko o ou kumon ku kin no yoakei” (Prayers are fulfilled and the sovereign is in a good mood). The inscription reads, “The seven blessings will come to life immediately.

The yabusame archery horseback archery stable extends from near the Ichino-torii gate to near the Shimonomiya shrine and is 255 meters (140 ken) in length.

The couple cypresses have the distinctive appearance of two cypresses with their branches intertwined at the base and in the middle, and are considered a symbol of marriage.

The third torii (Hizen torii) was rebuilt in 1617 by Shigetsuna Nabeshima, lord of Takeo. It is 4.6 meters high, with a 3 meter gap between pillars and a 5.1 meter length of the shade tree.

Ichino Tezumisha, Shiogama Shrine and Shiroyama Inari Shrine, and Arakamisha Shrine are located on the grounds as regent shrines.

The Cenotaph for the Burma Front War dead was erected in October 1987.

The Monument to the Triumphal Return of the Conquering Seongsing Army is a memorial in the handwriting of Heihachiro Togo.

The shrine office, worship and main halls, and a portable shrine storehouse are located here. The worship and main halls were destroyed by fire in 1964 and rebuilt with reinforced concrete in 1970. The worship hall is an irimoya-style building with a karahafu (Chinese gable). The color of the shrine pavilion is white to symbolize the egret.

Nino Tezumisha is a place to perform hand-watering when worshipping the sacred tree, Ookusu.

Momiji-dori is an approach leading to the sacred tree, Ookusu, with maple trees planted on both sides of the path.

The sacred tree is estimated to be 3,000 years old. The trunk near the surface of the ground has a cavity the size of about 12 tatami mats, inside of which is a stone shrine and the deity Tenjin-sama is enshrined. This camphor tree is registered as one of Saga’s famous and ancient trees, and has been selected as one of the “100 Famous Trees of Saga”. It is also a designated natural monument of Takeo City.