Atsuta Jingu and the Kusanagi sword

Atsuta Jingu stands in a forest in the south of Nagoya. The city puts the grounds at about 190,000 square metres, most of it trees. The shrine counts about nine million visitors a year. Its chief deity, Atsuta-no-Okami, is Amaterasu, the sun goddess, represented by the sacred sword Kusanagi-no-tsurugi.

The sword in the story

The Kusanagi is one of the three sacred treasures that stand for the imperial throne, with a mirror and a jewel. The shrine tells its founding this way. Prince Yamato Takeru left the sword with his wife, Miyasuhime, and died on his travels. Miyasuhime chose this site to enshrine it. The shrine dates that to 113 and counts more than 1,900 years of history.

The Nihon Shoki, the court chronicle, adds a theft. In 668 a monk from Silla named Dogyo stole the sword. In 686 it was returned to Atsuta. The shrine still marks the return. On the evening of 4 May the lights in the grounds are turned off and the people taking part laugh aloud at four places, in the Eyodo Shinji. On 5 May a portable shrine is carried to the west gate, at the site of the old Chinko Gate.

On the evening of 4 May the lights go out and the people taking part laugh aloud.

Nobunaga's wall and the camphor tree

In 1560 Oda Nobunaga prayed here for victory before the Battle of Okehazama. He won, and gave the shrine an earthen wall as thanks. The Nobunaga-bei is made of earth and lime mixed with oil, with tiles laid thick along it. The shrine counts it among Japan's three great earthen walls, with those at Nishinomiya Shrine and Sanjusangendo in Kyoto. You pass it on the way to the main sanctuary.

North of the water basin stands the Okusu, a camphor tree said to be more than 1,000 years old and, by tradition, planted by Kobo Daishi. Near the south pond is the Nijugocho bridge, named for its 25 stone slabs and called the oldest stone bridge in Nagoya.

The main sanctuary was rebuilt in 1893 in the Shinmei style, the style of Ise. Before that it followed the local Owari style. Air raids damaged the shrine in 1945, and it was rebuilt in 1955.

The swords you can see

The Kusanagi-kan opened on 3 October 2021, as part of the shrine's project to mark the Reiwa enthronement. It holds about 450 Japanese swords offered to the shrine. The cases are glass on every side, so you see both faces of a blade. Two huge odachi are on permanent display, linked to a father and son who fought at the Battle of Anegawa in 1570. The larger, Suenoaoe, has a blade of 221.5 cm and is 303 cm long overall. In one corner you can feel the weight and length of full-size replicas.

The older Treasure Hall holds more than 6,000 items given by the imperial family, shoguns, lords and private donors. The shrine says 177 of them are designated National Treasures or cultural properties. Each building is ¥500 for adults, or ¥800 for both, with the combined ticket sold until 15:30. Both are open 9:00–16:30, last entry 16:00. From 30 October to 24 November the Treasure Hall has a special display of contemporary Tokai swordsmiths; a corner exhibition follows from 27 November.

On a cruise day

From Kinjo Pier take the Aonami Line to Nagoya, then the Meitetsu line to Jingu-mae, three minutes from the shrine. A route planner gives about eight minutes for that leg by limited express. A taxi from the berth is about 13.9 km, roughly ¥6,200 by our estimate before traffic. The grounds are free and their hours are not published.

Lunch is in the grounds or near them. Miya Kishimen serves flat kishimen noodles inside the grounds, 9:00–16:30 every day. Atsuta Horaiken's Jingu-ten, by the south gate, is closed on Tuesdays, so it is shut on 10 November. Its Honten, the main shop, is open on Tuesdays.