SANCTUAIRE SHIOGAMA-JINJA

It's one of the city's must-sees. Perched on a hill overlooking Matsushima Bay, the Shiogama-jinja shrine is a sacred site steeped in history. Legend has it that here, the gods taught mankind the art of producing salt by boiling seawater. In their honor, around the year 800, the locals dedicated this sanctuary to the salt deities and named the place "Shiogama", literally "salt cauldron". Every July, this ancestral knowledge is recalled with a salt-making ritual celebrated at the nearby Okama-jinja shrine. Shiogama-jinja is also revered as a protector of fishermen and a guarantor of safe childbirth. Access is by climbing 202 stone steps, although the entrance can also be reached by a more accessible staircase. Its vermilion buildings, dating from the early ^18th century, bear witness to the architecture of the Edo period. Fourteen of them are classified as Important Cultural Properties. On the same site also stands Shiwahiko-jinja, a shrine dedicated to the deity of agriculture. A small museum exhibits objects linked to local war history, including real swords donated by the Date clan, former lord of the region. Throughout the year, the shrine is animated by festivals: the cherry blossom festival in spring, the port festival in summer, musical illuminations in autumn, and the winter mikoshi parade carried by men dressed in white.