Nonomiyajinja Shrine

A nonomiya was the place where an imperial princess chosen to serve as high priestess at Ise underwent purification before setting out from the palace. Each was built on ground selected for its purity, separate from the first purification hall within the palace itself, and you can catch something of what they were like in the Sakaki chapter of The Tale of Genji and in the Noh play Nonomiya. Because a new one was raised at various places across Sagano depending on the era, which period this particular shrine belongs to is unknown. People come here to pray for marriage ties, safe childbirth and success in study.