This shrine was established at the base of the Hakusan mountain over 2,100 years ago! Hakusan, which stands over three prefectures (Ishikawa, Fukui and Gifu), has been considered a sacred mountain since ancient times, being an important water source for the valleys below. The deity of the shrine is a goddess of matchmaking and family happiness.
Hakusan Hime jinjya has an incredibly tranquil atmosphere – a cool, quiet forest full of the sound of running streams. The 800-years-old sugi cedar, a sacred tree, that stands at the omote-sando walkway is 12 meters in circumpherence at the base and is 45-meters tall! I’ve see several trees during this trip to Japan that reminded me of Studio Ghibli’s “My neighbour Totoro,” and this is one of them.
We were lucky to enjoy some golden light when we came up to the main shrine. The building is both grandiose and elegant at the same time. And the shimenawa rope, which is meant to ward off evil spirits, over the entrance is some of the most impressively thick I’ve seen.
Our daughter, for whom this the first visit to Japan, was soaking up the incredible surroundings and enjoying learning the etiquette of visiting a shrine: make an offering of money, bow twice, clap twice, bow once. When leaving, turn around and bow again.
