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Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan NP, Nagano
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Hokosha preserves a 1804 mikoshi that weighed about 750 kg and cost 522 ry to make. It recalls a festival procession carrying Hokosha’s deity to meet his parent deity at Chusha.
戸隠そば often arrives in 5 little bundles, but at Hokosha it may come in 6. The shrine’s own history page suggests the extra portion counts the neighborhood Jizō hall alongside the five shrines.
Hokosha’s present main hall dates to 1861, making it the oldest surviving shrine building among Togakushi’s five shrines. Look high on its intricately carved walls for animals from the 12-sign zodiac.
At the front and center of Hokosha’s main hall is a stage for kagura, the traditional dance. Its story recalls how Ame-no-Uzume’s dance helped draw the sun goddess Amaterasu from her cave.
On August 20, 1945, a fire swept through Hokosha in about 2 hours, destroying 50-plus buildings and the old gate on the shrine approach. The late-Edo Koshi family shukubo was among the few inns to survive.
Meiji-era separation sent Buddhist images away from Togakushi’s shrines. During the periodic grand festival, some return to their former home for special viewing inside Hokosha’s hall—a striking reminder of the area’s shared religious past.
Hokosha’s local lion-dance group performs at shrine festivals and the nearby Jizō hall celebration. Its repertoire has 6 musical pieces but just 3 dances, and residents rehearse weekly from May through August.
Hokosha enshrines Ame-no-Uwaharu-no-Mikoto, a child of Chusha’s deity. The kami is associated with learning and crafts—including sewing—as well as safe childbirth and protection for women and children.
A record from 1841 counted more than 80,000 affiliated households across Togakushi’s 3 temple divisions, including Hokosha’s predecessor, Hōkō-in. Lodgings built for these far-flung pilgrims helped shape the district around the shrine.
A 1709 record already notes soba noodles served at a Togakushi festival. Later, temple lodgings and local homes served soba to welcome pilgrims and guests—an old hospitality tradition rooted in the shrine’s community.
Hokosha’s historic neighborhood is part of a 73.3-hectare national preservation district shared with Chusha. In 2017, it became Japan’s first such district selected specifically for its clusters of temple lodgings.
Before it was Hokosha Shrine, this was Hōkō-in, one division of the Tendai Buddhist complex at Togakushi. In 1868, religious separation ended the temple; its former monks became Shinto clergy.
