Sanbi Shrine

Overview

Sanbi Shrine is located in Sonjoji-cho, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture. It's the guardian shrine of the south precinct of Onjo-ji Temple (Mii-dera), and was formerly known as Sanbi-sha and Kami-Sanbi-sha. Its founding is rooted in a legend where Izanagi-no-mikoto descended upon the summit of Nagara Mountain, his waist adorned with three sashes of red, white, and black. These sashes, resembling tails, gave rise to the name "Sanbi Myojin" (Three-Tailed Deity). These sashes later became the Akabi-gami (Red-tailed God), Shirobi-gami (White-tailed God), and Kurobi-gami (Black-tailed God). Akabi-gami, the main deity, appears from the east on the year, month, day, hour, and direction of the rabbit, in Koto-odani Valley (Koto-ono Valley) on Nagara Mountain. Shirobi-gami appeared at the current location of Sanbi Shrine in the summer of the Taiho era (701-704), while Kurobi-gami appeared in Shika-sek on the second day of the rabbit in the third month of 769. In 859, during the year of the rabbit, Enchin, the first chief administrator of Onjo-ji Temple, enshrined Akabi-gami at the temple's western Koto-odani Valley (Koto-ono Valley), establishing Sanbi Shrine as the temple's guardian shrine. Following the separation of Shinto and Buddhism during the Meiji period, Sanbi-sha was relocated on May 12, 1876, from the Onjo-ji Temple grounds to its present location—the former temporary shrine associated with Shirobi-gami—becoming the independent Sanbi Shrine. The shrine houses a main hall (an Important Cultural Property) rebuilt in 1426 by the former shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi of the Muromachi Shogunate. Numerous rabbit statues and carvings, considered messengers of Sanbi Myojin, add to the charm. The peaceful and tranquil atmosphere makes it an ideal place to relax and escape the urban hustle.