Otoritaisha Grand Shrine

This shrine's founding traces back to the 43rd year of Emperor Keiko's reign (113 CE). It's listed in the Engishiki shrine registry completed in 927 as a Myojin Taisha renowned for exceptional divine power. Legend says that around 1,900 years ago, the spirit of Yamato Takeru no Mikoto took the form of a great white bird and flew off. The white bird alighted first at Kotohikihara in Yamato, then at Furuichi in Kawachi, and where it finally landed, Yamato Takeru no Mikoto was enshrined — marking this shrine's origin. A legend holds that trees grew lush overnight where the bird landed, preventing it from flying off again, giving the sacred grounds their name, 'Chikusa no Mori' (Forest of a Thousand Kinds).