Isonokami Shrine

Isonokami Shrine is one of the most ancient Shinto shrines in Japan, with origins stretching back to the earliest recorded history of the Japanese state. It appears prominently in both the Kojiki (712 AD) and the Nihon Shoki (720 AD), Japan's oldest surviving chronicles, as a place where sacred weapons of the gods were enshrined. The shrine is said to house the legendary sword Futsu-no-Mitama, a divine weapon associated with the mythological conquest of the land, as well as the extraordinary Nanatsusaya-no-Tachi, a seven-branched sword gifted by the Korean kingdom of Baekje in the 4th century. The atmospheric forested grounds, located in the hills east of Tenri city, are populated by dozens of freely roaming roosters and chickens, considered sacred messengers and adding a lively, distinctive character to visits. The shrine's worship hall (Haiden), a designated National Treasure built in the Kamakura period, is a superb example of classical shrine architecture.