Takinoo Shrine

Takinoo Shrine in Nikko is believed to have been built in 820 by Kukai, the monk who founded the famous Koyasan monastery, though the current structure dates to 1645. It enshrines Tagorihime no Mikoto, one of the three principal deities of Nikko Futarasan Shrine, and the area behind the shrine is considered sacred ground where the goddess first descended to earth. Three large Japanese cedars grow there now. The grounds include an Undameshi no Torii luck-testing gate, bamboo leaves said to assist with finding a good match, a spring whose waters reportedly produce fine sake, and a sacred rock associated with safe childbirth.