Oharano Shrine – Trivia Behind Kyoto’s Historical Hidden Gem
Tucked away within the western forest of Kyoto lies the little Oharano Shrine (大原野神社/Ōharano-jinja); a shrine that is totally out of the tourist radar for those visiting Kyoto (京都). Ask the hordes of tourist if they have heard of this shrine and chances are 99.99% the answer is a huge NO. Despite this, the shrine itself holds an important spot in Kyoto’s history for more than a thousand years. With that in mind, lets dwell into this background behind the founding of this shrine.
Table of Contents
History
A Little Historical Background
For the history of this shrine, we first introduce the main contributor to this shrine, Emperor Kanmu (桓武天皇). Emperor Kanmu was born in AD 737, his father being Emperor Konin (光仁天皇) while his mother being a Korean commoner. Emperor Kanmu himself is mainly known for two things. The first is his sheer number of family members; a whooping amount of 16 empresses and consorts, and 32 imperial sons and daughters. For a fun fact, 3 of his sons would eventually become emperors themselves.
The second was his major decision to shift the capital of the country from Nara (奈良) to Nagaoka-kyo (長岡京) and eventually to Heian-kyō (平安京) aka present-day Kyoto (京都) in AD 794. The former move was mainly meant to restrict the Buddhist temples in Nara from entering into politics while the latter was decided after a series of natural disasters, famines and successive deaths of Kanmu’s family members.
Founding of Oharano Shrine
As Emperor Kanmu moved his capital to Heian-kyō, his Empress Consort Fujiwara no Otomuro (藤原乙牟漏) divided the guardian deity of the clan (ujigami/氏神) from the famed Kasuga Taisha (春日大社) of Nara and enshrined it at Oharano. Subsequently, Emperor Montoku (文徳天皇) constructed the buildings of the shrine compound in AD 850 and it became an important place of worship among the Fujiwara clan (藤原氏) members.
In a way, Oharano Shrine is the spiritual successor to Kasuga Taisha and is nicknamed ‘The Kasuga of Kyoto (京春日/Kyō Kasuga)’. In fact, many ladies of the Fujiwara clan would come to pray at this shrine in order to become an Empress or consort. And if their prayers became true, it was customary for them to organise a procession and make a pilgrimage back to the shrine.
Oharano Shrine - Trivia
While Oharano Shrine is rather small, there is a surprising amount of trivia to cover for this quaint shrine. And it even shares an association with several well-known historic figures as well.
The Deer Motif
A recurring motif you will notice is the presence of deer statues around the shrine complex. For starters, there are statues of a buck and doe serving as guardians in front of the main worship hall. And then, there is also a deer statue at the shrine’s basin or chozuya (手水舎). That is because the deer is considered to be messengers of Gods in Shintoism (神道).
According to legends, one of the deities that is enshrined here, Takemikazuchi (建御雷) rode a deer from Kashima Shrine (鹿島神宮/Kashima Jingu) in Chiba to Kasuga Taisha in Nara. And if you are visiting the nearby Nara (奈良), you will be greeted by an army of deer roaming around the city. Clearly the deer statues are an element that are brought over by the Fujiwaras from Kasuga Taisha; which is no surprise given the Empress Consort who founded the shrine herself was a Fujiwara member.
P.S. the Japanese word for deer is shika (鹿).
Murasaki Shikibu
The name Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部) is certainly no stranger to avid readers, poets and novelists. Having written the Tale of Genji (源氏物語/Genji Monogatari) which is one of the oldest novels in the world; Murasaki Shikibu is also a renowned historical figure among locals (and also the main character in 2024’s historical Taiga drama (大河ドラマ), Japan’s annual historical drama series that focuses on local historical figures).
Shikibu herself also happened to be a huge fan of Oharano Shrine, mainly because of it’s beautiful scenery and the tranquility it offers. So much so that the shrine became a setting of an extravagant imperial procession of the fictional Emperor Reizei (冷泉帝) in chapter 29 [行幸/Miyuki] of the famed Tale of Genji novel.
Sumo
As many of you would have known, sumo (相撲/sumō) is the Japanese variant of wrestling and also a national sport in Japan. Believe it or not, the roots of sumo can be traced from Shintoism since the Yayoi Period (弥生時代) from 300 BC to 250 AD; serving as a ritual for healthy and vital men to offer their power to the deities as a sign of respect and gratitude.
Oharano Shrine happens to host the Mitakari Festival (御田刈祭/Mitakari-sai) once in September annually for over 300 years. The festival itself is held on the second Sunday of September morning around 11am – 12pm onwards; whereby young sumo wrestlers will wrestle each other as part of the ritual. This particular sumo ritual is called Kamizumo (神相撲) which means ‘wrestling for gods’ and is classified as an ‘Intangible Folk Cultural Property (無形民俗文化財)’ by the city council.
Oscar-Claude Monet
In Oharano Shrine, there is a scenic garden featuring a beautiful water lily pond with a vermillion bridge over it. This pond is modelled after the Sarusawa pond (猿沢池) at Kofukuji temple (興福寺) in Nara (奈良). Both ponds serve as an inspiration source material for the 19th century French painter Oscar-Claude Monet.
He was a Japanophile himself and he studied Japanese arts and prints as part of his inspirations. As a display for his dedication to Japanese art, he even painted his wife in a kimono in one instance. One of his most celebrated work; ‘Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge’ was said to have been inspired by the pond at Oharano Shrine. See if you can spot the resemblance between his artwork vs the scenery below.
Overall Thoughts
Oharano Shrine is certainly a little gem that holds a rich historical background behind its founding. Despite this, it is located in the rural Nishikyo Ward of Kyoto which is rather secluded. Check out my travel guide here about my adventures to this charming shrine.
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