Omiwa Shrine

Omiwa Shrine (大神神社, Ōmiwa-jinja) is an ancient Shinto shrine along the Yamanobe-no-michi walking trail in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. Surrounded by thick forest at the base of Mount Miwa, the exact age of the shrine is unknown, but Omiwa is thought to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest shrine in Japan. The shrine has been hugely important for many centuries.

Shrines usually have a main hall where the deity is enshrined, but Omiwa Shrine predates this custom and has no main hall (although it does have a prayer hall), instead directing worship to Mount Miwa, which stands behind the complex. Okuninushi became associated with Mount Miwa, and the mountain is believed to be the embodiment of this very prominent Shinto deity.

The mountain is worshiped through a triple torii gate (mitsu-torii) at the back of the shrine's prayer hall. The triple torii style is ancient and extremely rare, and to see the gate, visitors must inquire at the shrine office and be guided by a priest. A similar triple torii gate stands at Hibara Shrine, an auxiliary shrine of Omiwa Shrine, a 20 minute walk north along the Yamanobe-no-michi Trail.