Hiraoka Shrine

Hiraoka Shrine is a Shinto shrine located on the gentle foothills of the central Ikoma mountain range, enshrining four deities: Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto, Hime-no-Mikami, Futsunushi-no-Mikoto, and Takemikazuchi-no-Mikoto. It is said to have been founded three years before Emperor Jimmu’s accession, making it a very ancient shrine established about 2,681 years ago. Its name is also recorded in the Engishiki Jinmyōchō, indicating a high rank. In 650, descendants of Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto, known as the Hiraoka clan, relocated the shrine to its current site to protect the northeast (kimon) of the then capital, Naniwa-no-Miya. Later, when the capital moved to Heijō-kyō, the Fujiwara clan, seeking to protect the new capital, divided and transferred Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto and Hime-no-Mikami from Hiraoka Shrine; this is said to be the origin of Kasuga Taisha. For this reason, Hiraoka Shrine is sometimes called “Moto-Kasuga (Original Kasuga).” The current main sanctuary was rebuilt in 1826. The shrine is also known for the Autumn Satō Festival, featuring the entry of taikodai floats and the pulling of danjiri floats, and for the “Shimenawa-kake Shinji” (popularly called the “Owarai Shinji,” or Laughing Ritual), held every year on December 23, when new sacred ropes are hung and people gather to laugh together.