Agata Shrine 吾田神社

Official explanation

Agata Shrine is an ancient site of worship that is believed to have been the spiritual center of the local farming community for more than a thousand years. An annual festival held at the shrine in spring features ritual kagura dances performed to pray for a bountiful harvest. Some of these dances reenact scenes from Japanese mythology. According to local beliefs, the grave of Tagishimimi is on the hill behind Agata Shrine. In the myth, Tagishimimi is the first child of the legendary first emperor, Jimmu, and his first wife, Princess Ahiratsu, who is described as a native of a place called Agata. After his father’s death, Tagishimimi seeks to inherit the throne, but is thwarted and killed by his half-brothers, and buried in his mother’s home village. The Agata Shrine enshrines both the tragic prince and his mother as Shinto deities. The forested hill behind the shrine is thought to be a prehistoric burial site.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.