Nearest station
Shiojiri
JR Chūō Main Line
Nagano-ken, Shiojiri-shi, Seba 3340
長野県塩尻市洗馬3340
槻井泉神社
Tsukui-izumi Jinja
Home page: None
August 15, 2017
Enshrined Deities:
Main
Ōyamazumi-kami (22) 大山祇神
Mizuha-no-me-no-kami (32) 弥都波能売神
Homuda-wake-no-mikoto 品陀和氣命
Saruta-hiko-kami (115) 猿田毘古神
Wakamiya-Hachiman 若宮八幡
From Merged Shrines
In-ground Shrines:
Earliest mention of:
Annual Festival: November 23
Update on January 3, 2018, A Tale of Decay
The photo to the left is the Daikongen (大權現)
in-ground shrine as of August 15, 2017, when I first visited the Tsukui-izuma Jinja. The photo beneath it is the same Daikongen as of January 3, 2018. The torii has collapsed of decay. In a semi-rural area like this where the population is aging and dec-
lining, maintenance, perhaps even preservation, of shrines such as this will inevitably become increasingly difficult
History
According to a notice board at the shrine, it was founded in 870 during the reign of the Emperor Seiwa. In the reign of the following emperor, Yōzei, it was awarded what was apparently a relatively high ranking of Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade) in recognition of its local importance. Until late in the Edo period it seems to have been known as Hachiman-Miya. At that time, a certain Urabe Yoshiro established that the description of a shrine named Tsukui-izumi in a name plaque in the Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku almost certainly identified it with the Hachiman-Miya in Seba, and the Tsukui-izumi Jinja name was subsequently adopted.
Description
About four km, 20 minutes by bus from Shiojiri Station. The shrine is built on the side of a hill, and after going through the torii there is a 120 flight staircase leading up to the prayer hall and a further 51 flights from there to the main hall. The latter dates to 1764. There are small shrines scattered here and there in the grounds. Its most interesting natural feature is a large wisteria vine which first breaks ground just to the left of the torii, winds on and up through the surrounding trees and reappears on the level of the prayer hall before continuing on and up. It is said to be a spectacular sight when it blooms, normally in mid-May.
(Click on images to expand them)
