Gion Shrine

A natural cave at the mouth of the old Aburatsu harbor has been a place of worship since long before the current shrine was built inside it in 1924. The cave's position at the harbor entrance made it a site where sailors and townspeople could pray for protection against floods, disease, and the unpredictable sea. The shrine is affiliated with Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto and enshrines Susanoo, the storm deity who in Japanese mythology defeated Yamata no Orochi, the eight-headed serpent, and pulled a divine sword from its tail, now counted among the three Imperial Regalia of Japan. Entering the cave and praying within the rock itself gives the visit a different quality from open-air shrines.