roots, time, self

Origin

In the first year of Tenkei (938), during the reign of Emperor Suzaku, a divine spirit was enshrined here after being invited from Usa Hachimangū in Buzen Province (present-day Ōita Prefecture). The deity came to rest upon a sacred megalith known as Iwatō-ishi. The mountain thereafter became known as Mount Iwatō, and the shrine was named Iwatō Hachimangū. In Kan’ei 5 (1008), the shrine was relocated from Mount Iwatō to its present site in Dainichi-men, approximately 200 meters away. It was later rebuilt in Eishō 12 (1315) by Sue Okihusa, a retainer of Ōuchi Yoshioki.