Mizuwakasu Shrine (水若酢神社)

Mizuwakasu Shrine stands on Dōzen Island in the Oki archipelago, 80 kilometres north of mainland Shimane in the Sea of Japan. As the ichinomiya of the former Oki Province, it holds the highest rank among shrines on these remote islands where Emperor Go-Toba lived in exile for nineteen years after his failed attempt to overthrow the Kamakura shogunate in 1221. The shrine’s name combines mizu (water), waka (young), and su (pure) — a reference to the sacred spring that flows beside the main hall, believed to have sustained the imperial exile and the island’s inhabitants for over a millennium.

Mizuwakasu Shrine’s founding predates written records, though shrine tradition places its establishment in the early Heian period, around 820 CE. The shrine served as the spiritual centre of Oki Province throughout the medieval period, maintaining authority over more than fifty subsidiary shrines across the four inhabited islands of the archipelago. When Emperor Go-Toba arrived in exile in 1221, the shrine became a place of solace — he is said to have visited frequently to pray and compose waka poetry. The current main hall dates to the early Edo period (1625), rebuilt after a devastating fire, and retains the architectural characteristics of island shrine construction: lower rooflines to withstand typhoon winds, and hinoki cypress timbers brought from the mainland at great expense.

Mizuwakasu no Mikoto is the primary deity, a water god associated with springs, purification, and the protection of seafarers. This kami appears in no major mythological text but is deeply rooted in local Oki tradition as the guardian spirit who caused fresh water to emerge from rock on these islands surrounded by salt sea. The shrine also enshrines Ōkuninushi no Mikoto, the deity of nation-building who, according to the Izumo Fudoki, visited the Oki Islands during his travels across ancient Japan. A third deity, Emperor Go-Toba, was added to the shrine’s roster in the Meiji period, elevating the exiled emperor to divine status as the protector of the islands where he spent the final years of his life.

The Spring That Answered Prayer: According to shrine records, when the first settlers arrived on Dōzen Island in antiquity, they found no fresh water. After three days of thirst, the island headman dreamed of a white-robed figure who struck the ground with a staff. Upon waking, he walked to the spot from his dream — the current shrine grounds — and found water flowing from a cleft in the rock. The settlers built a small shrine there, and the spring has never run dry, even during the worst droughts. During Emperor Go-Toba’s exile, when he fell ill in 1234, a priest brought water from this spring to his residence daily. The emperor recovered briefly, composed a final poem about the island’s enduring water, and died six days later. The water is still drawn for shrine rituals and is offered to visitors in a wooden ladle beside the stone basin.

The shrine complex consists of a main hall (honden) in taisha-zukuri style — unusual for an island shrine, reflecting its ichinomiya status — flanked by two smaller subsidiary shrines dedicated to local sea kami. The grounds are shaded by centuries-old Japanese cedars, several of which exceed 25 metres in height, their trunks marked with sacred rope. A covered walkway leads from the haiden (worship hall) to the sacred spring, which flows into a stone basin carved during the Muromachi period. The shrine gate is a simple wooden shinmei torii painted in natural wood tones rather than vermilion, a design choice common to remote island shrines. Stone lanterns line the approach, many donated by mainland fishing families who traced their ancestry to Oki emigrants.

• Reitaisai (Annual Grand Festival, May 3) — The main festival features a procession carrying the shrine’s mikoshi through Dōzen’s coastal villages, accompanied by traditional Oki drum performances and folk dances that preserve movements from the Heian period. Fishermen bring the first catch of spring as offerings.
• Go-Toba-tennō Tsuizen-sai (Emperor Go-Toba Memorial, March 13) — A solemn ceremony commemorating the emperor’s death in exile, with poetry recitations of his waka composed on the islands and offerings of spring water drawn from the sacred source.
• Mizu-matsuri (Water Festival, July 17) — Islanders bring containers to collect sacred spring water, which is taken home and used for purification rituals and to bless fishing boats before the summer voyage season.

Late April through early May offers the clearest weather for the ferry crossing from the mainland and coincides with the Reitaisai festival. The shrine grounds are particularly atmospheric in early morning when mist rises from the sacred spring and the cedar forest amplifies the sound of running water. Autumn (October-November) brings migrating birds to the island and clear views of the Sea of Japan, though ferry schedules reduce in frequency. Winter visits are difficult due to rough seas that often cancel ferry service for days at a time.