Hie Shrine in Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, had been the head guardian shrine of 22 villages in the area before the Meiji period (1868-1912). The enshrined deities are Ooyamakui no Kami The guardian god of Mt. Hiei), Oomunachi no Kami and Ootoshigami. It is said that the shrine was founded by Fujiwara no Moromichi’s mother in 1100 in the clan’s manor, which was called “Ooka-sho” at that time.

Fujiwara no Moromichi was a head of the Fujiwara clan and served as Kampaku and Udaijin. Having come into colligion with the Tendai monks in Mt. Hiei, he ordered to attack them in 1095. As some monks were wounded in the battle and this aroused anger of the monks, he was placed a curse and died young in 1099. Thus his mother transferred the three dieties of Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine in Mt. Hiei to appease the anger of the deities of Mt. Hiei.

Traditionally, the school of Shinto which believes in the guardian deity of Mt. Hiei is called the Sanno (the King of Mountain) Shinto; hereby this shrine is also called “Sanno-sha”. The annual festival held for two days from September 23 every year is popularly called “Sanno-san” by the local people and enjoyed as the representative event of the city that tells of the coming of autumn.

The shrine is also famous for the collection of important old documents including Sanno Reikenki in Shihon-Chakushoku style (paper-based colored), which is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. In the precinct is a stone monument inscribed with a poem by Matsuo Basho.

Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine, or known as Sanno Gongen, located in Sakamoto, Otsu City, Shiga Pref. is the headquarters of Hiyoshi shrines, Hie shrines and Sanno shrines all over the nation. The enshrined deities are Omononushi no Mikoto and Oyama Kui no Kami. About 3800 branch shrines belong to this shrine. During the Shinbutsu Shugo (fusion of Shinto and Buddhism) period, the shrine was called “Sanno,” from which people sill call it by its nickname of “Sanno-san.” The shrine is noted as the guardian who guards Omote-kimon (ominous direction) of Kyoto and drives away bad luck. It is also famous for the respect to monkeys as the messenger of gods. The messenger monkey of Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine is called “Masaru,” which is believed to be a lucky name, because it means “evil spirit (ma in Japanese)” will “go away (saru),” or “exceed (masaru),” and people pay respect to this monkey deity. Most of the buildings are designated cultural properties, including the Main Hall, which is a National Treasure. It is very impressive to see 3000 Japanese maple trees growing in the precinct with an area of 400,000 sq. m turning red all together in autumn