Rokusho Shrine

Rokusho Shrine on Mt. Rokusho was established by Matsudaira Chikauji, founder of the samurai family whose descendants would eventually become the Tokugawa shoguns. The mountain itself is thought to have been sacred since before recorded history, with the formal shrine added at an unknown date. An upper shrine (kaminomiya) remains on the summit, while the lower shrine in the valley below has an Edo-period worship hall with a wooden shingle roof. Across the road, a thatched kabuki stage still stands where folk performances were popular from the late Edo period through the early 1900s. The Matsudaira connection gives the site quiet significance in the story of how the Tokugawa era came to be.