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Category: Gifu Pref

Kobi Shrine – Rebuild Crowdfunding Limited

Kobi Shrine 古井神社 Minokamo (美濃加茂市) 2025 (Reiwa 7) About Kobi Shrine Kobi shrine is our neighborhood shrine. After only a year of living in our new house, it tragically burned down in an electrical fire in the middle of the night on October 1, 2024. Thankfully no one was hurt. They opened up a crowdfunding campaign on Ready For to rebuild the shrine. We surpassed the minimum 5,000,000円 goal. We got a total of 7,320,000円 for the shrine. The money for the original goal was the amount needed just to rebuild and the excess will be used to replace the…

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Kobi Shrine

Kobi Shrine 古井神社 Minokamo (美濃加茂市) January 1, 2024 About Kobi Shrine Kobi Shrine is a shrine in the Kobi area of Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture. The dieties enshrined here are Emperor Ojin, Sugawara no Michizane, Sosano no Mikoto. My Visit We moved to Minokamo in the fall of 2023, making this our first new year in our new house. My family stayed home for the new year despite being able to travel now just for this reason. We got up for the sunrise and went back to bed and didn’t get up again until lunchtime. I dressed myself in my mother…

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Kogane Shrine – Gold

Gold goshuin for Kogane Shrine

Kogane Shrine 金神社 Gifu (岐阜市) March 21, 2022 About Kogane Shrine Originally established in the year 135AD during the 5th year of Emperor Seimu’s reign, people have come to Kogane Shrine to pray for financial success for a long time. It is also one of the three shrines that participate in the Gifu Matsuri, the other two being Inaba Shrine and Kashimori Shrine. My Visit to Kogane Shrine It has been a while since I last visited in 2018. I didn’t know about Premium Gold Day (プレミアム金デイー) at the time and got my goshuin on regular paper. Their special gold…

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Naegi Castle Ruins

Naegi Castle Ruins 苗木城跡 Nakatsugawa (中津川市) August 13, 2020 About Naegi Castle Ruins Looming on the north side of the Kiso River in Nakatsugawa, Naegi Castle once demanded an impressive view from atop Mt. Takamori. Its layout and use of the mountain’s natural stone as is make it quite unique among Japanese mountaintop castles. Also, according to records it was made out of red clay instead of the usual white. Unfortunately, the castle was torn apart and the materials sold to pay off debt during the Meiji period. The main struts that we see now are a reconstruction and there’s…

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Takayama Betsuin Shorenji

Takayama Betsuin 古井神社 Takayama (高山市) March 24, 2019 Takayama Betsuin Shorenji is a splendid Jodo Shinshuu Otani sect temple in the scenic town of Takayama in Gifu Prefecture. Jodo Shinshuu is by far the most common kind of Buddhism in the Hida area of northern Gifu. The text in the center reads “Kueissho”, a phrase in Japanese Buddhism meaning that everyone will meet again in the Pure Land. As we drove up this chilly morning in March, we passed piles of snow on the side of the tollway before flurries started falling. Most of Japan was already warming up and…

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Gujo Hachiman Castle

Gujo Hachiman Castle 郡上八幡城 Matsumoto (松本市) September 17, 2018 The gojoin for Gujo Hachiman Castle in Gujo, Gifu Prefecture. I had no idea castles could have goshuin unitl I got this one. Gujo Hachiman Castle is high up on Mt Hachiman above the city of Gujo and can be seen from the tollway there. It was originally built in 1559 but demolished by the Meiji government in the 1870s in accordance with the Haijo Edict, however the tenshu, or castle keep, was later rebuilt as a museum based on Ogaki Castle’s design in 1933. Gujo is also famous for their…

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Anyo-ji (Gujo)

Anyo-ji 安養寺 Gujo（郡上） September 17, 2018 About Anyo-ji Anyo-ji is located near the base of Mt. Joyama under Gujo Hachiman Castle. It is the largest wooden structure in Gifu Prefecture. It also has a treasure room that you can enter. The nearby Joyama Park is one of the locations for Gujo Odori in the summer. My Visit to Anyo-ji The day we stopped by the temple was unfortunately under construction. A typhoon hit us recently and the roof was in need of repair. You can see other goshuin from Gifu Prefecture here. Links Temples and Shrines of Gujo Hachiman (EN)…

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Onsen-ji

– Onsen-ji – 温泉寺 – Gero（下呂） – September 1, 2018   One of the top three onsen towns in Japan is Gero Onsen in Gifu Prefecture. It’s a lovely river-side city with many onsen to visit. If you venture little ways up the mountain away from the river, you can visit the onsen temple, Onsen-ji. One story form Gero Onsen’s history of over 1000 years is this. In 1265, the onsen’s hot water stopped. The following year, the villagers noticed a the flashing white wings of a white heron dancing on the riverbed of the Hida River every day. When…

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Kogane Shrine

Goshuin for Kogane Shrine

– Kogane Shrine – 金神社 – Gifu – 岐阜 – August 31, 2018 Kogane Shrine is written with the kanji for gold/money, but even without knowing any kanji it’s pretty obvious what people come here for: Luck with money. Why? When you walk up to the shrine, you’re welcomed by a giant gold torii. It is a shrine near the middle of Gifu and is closely connected to two other shrines in the area: Inaba Shrine and Kashimori Shrine. The god enshrined here is Nunoshihime-no-mikoto, wife of Inishiki-Irihiko-no-mikoto who is enshrined at Inaba Shrine and the mother of Ichihaya-no-mikoto at…

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Kasuga Shrine (Seki)

Kasuga Shrine Goshuin

– Kasuga Shrine – 春日大社 – Seki（関市） – October 8, 2017   Kasuga Shrine is a medium sized shrine in Seki located next to the Sword Tradition Museum. It is a swordsmithing shrine that was built in 1590. I went to the Seki Hamono Matsuri (Seki Cutlery Festival) to buy myself a nice cooking knife and to have fun. While there, I dropped by the shrine.  On that day, they also had an exhibit of old clothes and masks that you could go inside and see. They’re old enough that everyone who went in to see had to wear a surgical…

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