Kata Jinja Shrine

Kata Jinja's most noted story involves Kuki Yoshitaka, a naval commander who harvested timber from a sacred tree within the shrine grounds to build the flagship Nippon Maru for Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 1592 Korean campaign. Hideyoshi praised the ship, and in gratitude Yoshitaka planted 1,000 Japanese cedars on the surrounding hills. One of those trees still stands just inside the entrance. The shrine also hosts annual spring performances of noh and kyogen, traditional theater forms, using masks and costumes designated as Tangible Cultural Properties by Mie Prefecture. A quiet site with genuine historical depth, it rewards a short detour in the region.