We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. If you continue to browse, you accept the use of cookies on our site. See our cookies policy for more information.
- Area
- Iki
- Category
- History&Culture
- 2666views
Mendake Shrine stands on Mt. Mendake, which stands on the opposite side of a dam, across from Mt. Ondake that houses Ondake Shrine. Mendake Shrine is dedicated to Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, a goddess from Japanese mythology. She became the wife of the god Sarutahiko-no-Mikoto, who is the deity enshrined at Ondake Shrine, and so it is said that visiting both shrines will bring luck to people who wish to find good partners.
- Learn more via audio guide
Information
Address | 811-5465 長崎県壱岐市芦辺町箱崎釘ノ尾触101 | |
---|---|---|
Access | 20 minutes by car from Ashibe Port | |
Website | Tripadvisor |
The goddess Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto is venerated at Mendake Shrine. She is the ancestral deity of Japanese performing arts, and so she is believed to bestow blessings on the arts as well as on marriages.
A story about this goddess, who is well-known in Japan, is written in the Kojiki, the oldest chronicle of this country. Long ago, the sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami hid inside a rock cave because she could no longer bear her younger brother’s unruly behavior, and this plunged the world into darkness. In an effort to draw out Amaterasu, the goddess Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto stood in front of the cave and began to dance. This was so entertaining that it made the gods laugh, and Amaterasu finally came out of the cave to see what the commotion was about. And so, the world was bathed in light once again.
