Miya-juku was the 41st of the 53 post stations of the Tokaido Road in the Edo period (1603-1686). It was in current Atsuta-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture. Located at the interchange point of the Tokaido, its byroad Saya Kaido, and Minoji, which was a byroad of the Nakasendo Road, the town was always bustling with travelers. As Miya-juku was also a cathedral town of Atsuta Jingu Shrine, a lot of worshippers came to this town from all over the country. Hence, there were 248 inns, which was the largest in number on the Tokaido Road at the time, and 2 honjin inns in Miya-juku. One of the sub-honjin is now preserved as a city’s designated cultural property “the Residence of the Niwa Family.”
The only ferry service on the Tokaido Road was provided between Miya-juku and Kuwana-juku. As it was 7 ri (about 27 km) between the two ports, the ferry service was called “Shichi-ri no Watashi.”
Hamana Shosha Shinmeigu Shrine is located in Mikkabi-cho, Kita-ku, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Pref. The enshrined deity is Amaterasu Sume Omikami. The time of the foundation is unknown. It is said that the shrine was originally founded by Agatanushi (a provincial chief) of Hamana to enshrine his ancestral deity, Ohta no Mikoto. In 940, when the area around the shrine was dedicated to Ise Shrine, the enshrined deity was changed to Amaterasu Sume Omikami and Ota no Mikoto was moved to a sessha (an attached shrine) in the precinct.
Honden (the main hall) is an old-styled Itakura-zukuri (the style used for a log storage house), or generally called Seiro-zukuri, the same style used for the original main halls of Ise Jingu Shrine and Atsuta Jingu Shrine. It was originally use for storing the offerings from a mountain village of Hamana Kanbe. The thatched roof of Honden bears the crest of Mitsudomoe made of copper, which has become coated with verdigris and the entire hall is covered with a net to keep away birds. Honden Hall was designated as a National Important Cultural Property in 1993.
Kusanagi Shrine located in Kusanagi, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Pref. is a shrine that enshrines Yamato Takeru no Mikoto. According to the myth, Kusanagi is the place where Yamato Takeru broke away the fire attack by sweeping off the grass with a holy sword named Amenomurakumo no Tsurugi (later called Kusanagi no Tsurugi, a part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan) and sparked off intersect fire with firestones. Later , his father, Emperor Keiko, built a shrine here. The sword was dedicated to the shrine, but in 686 it was transferred to Atsuta Jingu Shrine by the order of the emperor. At the annual festival held on September 20, a lot of people gather together to enjoy Ryusei Fireworks, which is said to originate in a signal fire and designated as the prefecture’s intangible folk cultural property.
Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, honors the Atsutano deity. The enshrining of Kusanaginomi-tsurugi, which is one of the three holy durables, marked the establishment of this shrine.
After Yamato Takeru passed away, his wife enshrined his sword and made a small shrine. It is uncertain when Atsuta Shrine was established, but it is said to be about 1900 years old.
Even the emperors of Japan had faith in this shrine. Also there are over 4000 relics bestowed on the shrine by worshipers.
The shrine precincts include other highlights such as a 1000-year-old camphor tree, a wall bestowed by Oda Nobunaga, and the Niju-Gocho Bridge where Saigo Hoshi rested.