Toriigawa Goryo Shrine

The deity enshrined in this shrine is Emperor Kobun [also known as Prince Otomo]. According to the shrine’s history, this was the place, Kakureyama [hidden mountain in Japanese] where Prince Otomo took his own life after his defeat at the Jinshin War. In 675, Otomo no Yota O, a child of Prince Otomo, reportedly founded this shrine to enshrine his father’s spirit. The main shrine employs the ikkensha-nagare-zukuri style, [which is characterized by the asymmetrical gable roof and two front columns approximately 1.8 meters apart] The main shrine was rebuilt in the Edo Period [between the 17th and mid-19th centuries]. The gate in front of the Okujinja [literally the rear shrine] in the precinct is the honmaru-kuromon, the black gate for the keep, transferred from Zeze Castle.