Tour the gods of music and entertainment! Recommended shrines, temples, and power spots
Japan is home to countless shrines and temples, each said to offer various blessings.
Among them are many places believed to bestow benefits related to music and the performing arts.
In particular, shrines and temples that enshrine deities such as Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto—known from the legend of Ama-no-Iwato—Benzaiten, the goddess of music, and Gigeiten, who grants blessings for artistic pursuits, are especially popular for their supposed benefits in music and entertainment.
In this article, we’ll introduce not only famous shrines like Kurumazaki Shrine in Kyoto and Yoyogi Hachimangu in Tokyo, but also a wide range of shrines and temples across Japan connected to music and the performing arts.
We’ll also highlight music-related power spots such as musicians’ graves, monuments with song inscriptions, and memorial museums.
If any of these places catch your interest, be sure to pay them a visit.
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shrine
Onoterusaki Shrine
Ono no Takamura, enshrined at Ono Terusaki Shrine, is a deity who was also a poet and scholar of the Heian period, and is revered as the god of the performing arts and of learning. The shrine is also famous for its connection to Kiyoshi Atsumi, known for the film series “It’s Tough Being a Man” (Tora-san). It’s said that when Atsumi was still unknown, he went to Ono Terusaki Shrine and made a vow, “I will never smoke again in my life, so please grant me work,” and immediately afterward he was chosen for the lead role in Tora-san. It feels as if the deity discerns a person’s resolve; if you pray with a do-or-die determination for something you absolutely must achieve, your wish may reach the gods.
| Name | Onoterusaki Shrine |
| Address | 2-13-14 Shitaya, Taito City, Tokyo |
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| Website | http://onoteru.or.jp/ |
Suitengu Shrine
Suitengu Shrine, located in a corner of the city, is a Benzaiten shrine famous for prayers for safe childbirth. Because Benzaiten was originally a deity of a great river in ancient Indian mythology, she came to be worshiped as the “goddess of music,” associated with the sound of flowing water. Within the precincts there is also Hōshō Benzaiten, said to grant blessings for scholarship and the arts, performing arts, and prosperity.
| Name | Suitengu Shrine |
| Address | 2-4-1 Nihonbashi Kakigaracho, Chuo City, Tokyo |
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| Website | http://www.suitengu.or.jp/ |
Karakasumori Shrine (Karasumori Jinja)
While Karasumori Shrine is, of course, known for blessings such as prosperous business and improved career luck, what’s surprisingly less known is that it enshrines Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto. Places that enshrine Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto are said to offer benefits for the performing arts, as she is revered as a deity of entertainment. In recent years, the shrine’s cute goshuin (seal stamps) have become very popular, drawing many visitors and making it a well-loved shrine.
| Name | Karakasumori Shrine (Karasumori Jinja) |
| Address | 2-15-5 Shinbashi, Minato City, Tokyo |
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| Website | http://karasumorijinja.or.jp/ |
Uzume Shrine (Uzume Jinja)
Ume (Uzume) Shrine in Kitaazumi District, Nagano Prefecture, is a relatively new shrine founded in the Meiji era. Its enshrined deity is Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, a goddess who appears in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. Although she is commonly enshrined together with Sarutahiko-no-Mikoto in the same sanctuary, Uzume Shrine uniquely enshrines her alone in the main hall. Considered Japan’s oldest dancer and revered as a deity of the performing arts, Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto is sometimes identified with Ōmiyanome-no-Ōkami, who is likewise said to have performed a dance to console the sun goddess Amaterasu.
| Name | Uzume Shrine (Uzume Jinja) |
| Address | Hosono, Matsukawa Village, Kitaazumi District, Nagano Prefecture |
| Website | https://www.nagano-jinjacho.jp/10daihoku/matsukawa/10085.html |
Betsugu Tsubaki Kishi Shrine (Tsubaki Grand Shrine Betsugu) (Tsubaki Kishi Jinja)
At Tsubakikishi Shrine, a detached sanctuary of Tsubaki Grand Shrine in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, is the head shrine of Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto—the deity of the performing arts who is also enshrined at Kuraunashi (Kuruma-osa) Shrine in Kyoto. In addition to blessings for improvement in all performing arts, it is said to offer benefits for matchmaking and marital harmony.
| Name | Betsugu Tsubaki Kishi Shrine (Tsubaki Grand Shrine Betsugu) (Tsubaki Kishi Jinja) |
| Address | 1871 Yamamoto-cho, Suzuka-shi, Mie |
| Website | https://tsubaki.or.jp/ |
Nagamine Shrine
This shrine is affectionately known as Uzume-san because it enshrines Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto. It is revered as the ancestral deity of the Ise Ondo folk songs and the Furuichi Kabuki that flourished in this area, and it’s said that entertainers sometimes come to pay their respects. Located roughly between the Outer and Inner Shrines of Ise Grand Shrine, it’s a great place to visit along with your pilgrimage to Ise.
| Name | Nagamine Shrine |
| Address | 333-1, Furuichi-cho, Ise-shi, Mie Prefecture |
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| Website | https://ise-kanko.jp/purpose/nagaminejinja/ |
Tsubaki Kishi Shrine
This is a shrine dedicated to Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, known as the deity of the performing arts. Within the grounds, Sarutahiko Ōkami—Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto’s husband, who is also believed to bestow blessings for the arts—is enshrined as well. When you visit, it’s a good idea to also stop by Tsubakishi Shrine, a subsidiary shrine within Tsubaki Grand Shrine that likewise enshrines Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, located about a 30-minute drive away.
| Name | Tsubaki Kishi Shrine |
| Address | 684 Chishakuchō, Yokkaichi-shi, Mie |
| Website | http://www.keydo.jp/tsubakikishi/ |