Kagawa｜The Thousand-Step Staircase of Kotohira-gu Shrine and the Interesting History of the Konhira Dog

During the Edo period, people were not allowed to travel anywhere, except for visiting Kotohira-gu Shrine. In that era, visiting Kotohira-gu Shrine became an important itinerary for the annual trip. What if I still can’t get there? The people came up with the idea of ​​tying the incense money and food expenses to the dog, and let the pilgrims who went to worship take the dog with them. This is the origin of the Kinbira dog. Because of this history, the lot here is designed as a Konpira dog lot, which is quite creative. Kotohira-gu Shrine is located in Kotohira-cho, Kagawa. It enshrines Omononushi and Emperor Sutoku, and is even affectionately called Konhira-god by the locals. Omononushi is the Miwa Myojin in Japanese mythology, who possesses the divinity of snake god, water god and thunder god. In Kotohira-gu Shrine, Omononushi has been worshipped as the god of the sea since ancient times. If you have watched the Japanese drama "The Abnormal Solution Room", Omononushi is also in it. In the Heian period, it was believed that the eight million gods were the incarnations of Buddha and Bodhisattva, and the name was combined with the Buddhist Konpila and changed to Konpila Daigongen. Later, due to the order to separate gods and Buddhas, the guardians of Konpira (Avalokitesvara), Acala and Bishamonten, were invited to Okayama Nishidaiji Temple, and for a time it was changed back to Kotohira Shrine. Later, because Konpira-kun was so deeply rooted in people's hearts, it got its current name. The gold characters on the large gold-lettered lanterns were designed during the Edo period. At that time, they were also made into fans and became souvenirs after visiting the shrine. Visiting Kotohira-gu Shrine is a very demanding task. It takes 785 steps from the bottom of the mountain to the main shrine, and more than 1,300 steps to the Oku-shrine, with stone steps going up the right and down the left. If you count going up and down the mountain, you can easily break through 2,000 steps. 📍Address: 〒766-8501 892-1 Kotohira-cho, Nakatado-gun, Kagawa Prefecture 🚗From JR Kotohira Station or Kotoden Kotohira Station, walk for 15 minutes to the entrance of the mountain. It takes 1,368 steps to climb to Okusha. #AprilGoodDestinations2025