Sakanoue no Tamuramaro in the North

1. 01

   Kiyomizu-deraきよみずでら

   Kyoto Kyoto

   Starting pointA temple, not a shrine, but the origin of the whole Tamuramaro cycle: he prayed to Bishamonten for victory and endowed the hall after the campaigns.

2. 02

   Aritama Shrineありたまじんじゃ

   Shizuoka Hamamatsu

   TotomiWhere he drilled his troops and prayed on the way out, and dedicated a sword on the way home.

3. 03

   Nihon Shrineにほんじんじゃ

   Saitama Kamikawa

   MusashiFounded in 791, tradition says, by a general invoking the precedent of Jimmu himself. The only shrine in the country to carry the name Nihon.

4. 04

   Omuro Takao Shrineおおむろたかおじんじゃ

   Tochigi Nikko

   ShimotsukePrayers for rain and for victory on the way north, and a hall built in thanks on the way back.

5. 05

   Yamizomine Shrineやみぞみねじんじゃ

   Ibaraki Daigo

   The summitOn the peak where three provinces meet. Five springs below it are said to have been found for a thirsty army; they are on the national list of famous waters.

6. 06

   Hanazono Shrineはなぞのじんじゃ

   Ibaraki Kitaibaraki

   The dreamFounded in 795 after a dream in the mountains on the road to Mutsu. The three-trunked cedar in the precinct is centuries old.

7. 07

   Sakai-no-Myojinさかいのみょうじん

   Tochigi / Fukushima Nasu

   The barrierAt the old frontier into Mutsu. An old man with white hair is said to have met him here and traded words, after which he raised a shrine on the boundary.

8. 08

   Sugafune Shrineすがふねじんじゃ

   Fukushima Koriyama

   IwashiroSickness went through the army here; prayers to the local god are credited with the recovery, and the shrine with the thanks.

9. 09

   Kashima Miko Shrineかしまみこじんじゃ

   Fukushima Minamisoma

   Pacific roadA staging post on the coastal march north, remembered by the pine where the warhorses were tethered.

10. 10

    Tamura Shrine and Katchu-doたむらじんじゃ

    Miyagi Shiroishi

    Mutsu gateOn the Oshu highway at the provincial border, where he is said to have camped. The general himself is the enshrined deity.

11. 11

    Shiwahiko and Shiogama Shrineしわひこじんじゃ・しおがまじんじゃ

    Miyagi Shiogama

    The baseThe ichinomiya of Mutsu and the hinge of the northern campaign by land and sea. Rebuilding of the halls is credited to him in thanks for the victory.

12. 12

    Nonodake Hakusan Shrineののだけはくさんじんじゃ

    Miyagi Wakuya

    The arrowIn the hardest of the northern battles he is said to have prayed to Hakusan and loosed an arrow that decided it.

13. 13

    Takkoku-no-Iwaya Bishamon-doたっこくのいわやびしゃもんどう

    Iwate Hiraizumi

    The front lineThe cliff stronghold, taken in 801. He credited Bishamonten as at Kiyomizu, and built a hall of a hundred and eight images into the rock face.

14. 14

    Tamura Shrineたむらじんじゃ

    Akita Yokote

    Furthest northOver the Ou range into Dewa. A Bishamon hall raised in 807 for the protection of the people; his own spirit was enshrined here later.

15. 15

    Takatsudo Kashima Shrineたかつどかしまじんじゃ

    Gunma Midori

    The returnOn the road home in 806 he is said to have stopped, given thanks for the peace, and left his arms as an offering.

16. 16

    Tamura Shrineたむらじんじゃ

    Shiga Koka (Tsuchiyama)

    DeifiedAt the Suzuka pass, where he was enshrined after his death as a god of warding off misfortune. The February festival still fills the grounds.

None of the shrines described here takes part in this project, and none has been approached. They are written about because the roads they stand on are worth knowing. Coordinates are approximate and unverified — enough to show the shape of a route, not enough to navigate by.