Oyamazumi Shrine

In 647, the village headman dreamt that he saw the side of Mount Chojian burning. When the villagers went to see this site, they saw a large stone and built a shrine beneath it. Revered as a guardian of their birthplace, it was called "Ishi-Gongen", a type of Shinto architecture in which an entire shrine is covered by one stone roof. Behind the Honden, or main shrine building, the thing to see is an overwhelming boulder. It is worshipped as a "go-shintai", or an object believed to contain the deity's spirit. Surrounding this boulder are numerous big and little holes that look like horse hoof prints. Legend has it that the spirit of a white horse descended from the heavens and walked around it. In the Edo Era, this shrine came under the territory of the Kurushima Clan of the Mori Domain. They built a Torii gate and well-made stone walls that bear a vivid resemblance to castle walls of the past. During their reign, the Kurushima Clan financially supported the repair of these stone walls over a period of three years.