Suga Shrine

Birth of Suga Shrine
Suga Shrine was built by a legendary samurai Fujiwara no Hidesato, who prayed to Susanoo-no-Mikoto for victory over his enemies. To thank God for their bless, he brought the God from Gion Shrine (Yasaka Shrine) to Oyama and built the shrine.

The site of the legendary “Oyama Council”, witnessed the birth of the Tokugawa hegemony.
It is said that before the Battle of Sekigahara in A.D 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu held the famous “Oyama Council” at Suga Shrine and prayed for the victory of the battle.

After Ieyasu’s victory and the establishment of the Edo Shogunate, Suga Shrine was greatly honored by the Shogunate. In 1658, staff members who had participated in the construction of Nikko Toshogu Shrine, created a miniature version of the Akamikoshi in Toshogu Shrine, which became the pressure of Suga Shrine.

Today Suga Shrine’s Akamikoshi has been designated as a “Cultural Property by Tochigi Prefecture”.

Enjoy the Gion Festival in Tochigi!
As a famous Gion Shrine, Suga Shrine is also called “Gozu Tenno Shrine”. Suga Shrine holds “Gion Festival” on July 14 to 21 every year, 25 mikoshi including one massive one that weighs in at 2 tons are carried through the city in “Mikoshi Wataru” on July 20.

According to “Shimotsuke Province Choreography（下野国誌）” written in Edo period, Suga Shrine’s “Gion Festival” is the “best Gion Festival in Shimotsuke Province.”