Nomachi Takano Shrine

Japan Guide

Nomachi is a tiny farm settlement on the flat plain north of the Chikugo River in southern Fukuoka.

The local shrine, adjacent to the community centre is marked by a small stand of tall trees as with many other rural or urban shrines.

The rudimentary shrine building is fairly utilitarian, and there was no signboard explaining which kami were enshrined here.

There was a small Dosojin altar. Dosojin were sometimes placed at village boundaries for protection and were often symbols of marriage and fertility. Sometimes pairs of stones or single phallic stones, later they became carvings of male-females couple in Heian costume.

A small secondary shrine in the grounds was open showing the mirror used as the shintai.