Fukui

Yanagino Yashiro Shrine in Ono City

Trailhead to reach Ono Castle on the hilltop

Takako Sakamoto Nov 13, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>Funny face of a guardian dog statue. He and his partner are sticking out their rears to the sky for some reason!</p>

<p>Quiet shrine grounds in the late afternoon</p>

<p>Stone torii gate and tall trees at the entrance of Yanagino Yashiro Shrine in Ono Castle Town</p>

<p>This stone marker at Yanagino Yashiro Shrine was erected in 1916</p>

<p>The sign says it's 50 meters from here to the trailhead. From there it takes 20 minutes to reach Ono Castle on the top of the hill.</p>

<p>This collapsing stone lantern needs wooden supports</p>

<p>Front view of the prayer hall of Yanagino Yashiro Shrine. Notice the unique pose of two guardian dogs!</p>

<p>This lantern also has wooden supports. They could be for protection from heavy snow in winter, but probably they are to prevent the ancient lantern from collapsing.</p>

<p>Old water purification font. There's no water in the basin.</p>

<p>Looking up at the eaves of the prayer hall</p>

<p>According to the sign, this prayer hall was damaged by heavy snow in 2006. In 2007, it was repaired and renovated using donations from the local people of Ono city.</p>

<p>A mean-looking white cat was watching me!</p>

<p>This cat was sleeping peacefully. How adorable! He/she reminds me of 'Danaë', a painting of Klimt.</p>

<p>Guardian dog from the rear, a willow tree in the wind and a supported stone lantern</p>

<p>In the late afternoon everyone had gone home and I was the only one there in the silent shrine</p>

Yanagino Yashiro Shrine in Ono city, Fukui, is located at the foot of Mount Kameyama. This shrine is also at the trailhead of this mountain, on top of which Ono Castle stands. Anyone who climbs the mountain to see the castle passes through it. This shrine was built in 1882 to enshrine Doi Toshitada, the seventh lord of Ono-Han (feudal domain). The shrine was moved to the current location in 1911. In 2006, the heavy snow damaged the prayer hall badly, and it was renovated in 2007 using donations from Ono City's local people. Although it acts as the trailhead to Ono Castle, silence permeated the grounds when I visited, and I had the place all to myself except for two cats.

Ono Castle

Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...