Tsutsumori Shrine — 筒森神社

In the mountains of Ōtaki, Chiba Prefecture, stands a shrine dedicated to a prince who officially died in 672 CE. According to local legend, Prince Ōtomo — who lost the throne in the Jinshin War and was recorded as having committed suicide — instead fled east from the capital with his wife, Princess Tōchi, and lived out his days in exile among these forested hills. Tsutsumori Shrine marks the site where the defeated prince allegedly built his refuge, and where he and his wife are enshrined not as failures but as protective deities of the village that sheltered them. The shrine’s existence is a quiet challenge to official history: a place where the losing side of a succession war is still honored thirteen centuries later.

Tsutsumori Shrine was established during the Heian period, though local oral tradition places its origins in the late 7th century, immediately following the Jinshin War of 672 CE. Prince Ōtomo, son of Emperor Tenji, was defeated by his uncle Prince Ōama (later Emperor Tenmu) in Japan’s most significant succession conflict. The Nihon Shoki records that Ōtomo took his own life after the defeat. However, the people of Ōtaki preserve a different narrative: the prince escaped with loyal retainers and his wife to the remote Bōsō Peninsula, where he was given sanctuary. The shrine was built over what is believed to be the residence where they lived in hiding. During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate acknowledged the shrine’s existence but never officially endorsed its counter-narrative to imperial history.

Prince Ōtomo (大友皇子) and Princess Tōchi (十市皇女) are enshrined as the primary deities. Prince Ōtomo, also known posthumously as Emperor Kōbun, ruled for less than a year before his defeat. Princess Tōchi was his wife and also his half-sister, daughter of Emperor Tenji and a different mother. In the shrine’s theology, they function as guardians of political refugees, the unjustly defeated, and couples enduring hardship together. They are also invoked for safe travel and protection during times of political uncertainty. The shrine uniquely presents them not as imperial figures but as human beings who suffered and survived, making them accessible to common worshippers in ways that most imperial kami are not.

The central legend preserved at Tsutsumori tells that after Prince Ōtomo’s forces were defeated at the Battle of Seta, he did not commit suicide as recorded but was smuggled out of the capital by loyal retainers. He and Princess Tōchi traveled eastward in disguise, reaching the mountains of Kazusa Province (modern Chiba) after weeks of flight. The local chieftain, moved by their plight, gave them land and built them a hidden residence in a valley surrounded by cedar trees. Prince Ōtomo lived there for three more years, teaching the villagers Chinese characters and administrative techniques he had learned as crown prince. When he finally died of illness in 675 CE, the villagers buried him secretly and built a small shrine. Princess Tōchi lived another decade, serving as a healer and advisor to the village. The shrine’s name, Tsutsumori, is said to derive from tsutsumimorite — “the protected forest” — referring to the cedar grove that concealed the prince’s residence. An annual ceremony commemorates the day the prince arrived in Ōtaki, though the shrine avoids calling it a “founding festival” to maintain the appearance of orthodox imperial reverence.

The shrine maintains a deliberately modest scale, consistent with its narrative of concealment and exile. The main hall (honden) is a simple nagare-zukuri structure built of cedar, unpainted and weathered to gray. Behind it, a stone marker indicates the site of what tradition identifies as Prince Ōtomo’s residence, though no archaeological evidence has been formally excavated. The approach path leads through an old-growth cedar forest, some trees estimated at over 800 years old, creating a canopy that keeps the shrine in perpetual shade. Two stone komainu guardian lions flank the entrance, their features worn smooth by centuries of rain. A small museum hall displays copies of classical texts with marginalia discussing the prince’s fate, including Edo-period historical debates about the reliability of the NihonShOki‘s account of his death.

• Ōtomo-sai (May 15) — The shrine’s main festival, commemorating the legendary arrival of Prince Ōtomo in Ōtaki. Participants wear Nara-period court dress and perform a procession through the cedar forest, symbolizing the prince’s flight from the capital. The ceremony includes reading passages from the Man’yōshū poetry anthology, which contains poems attributed to Prince Ōtomo.
• Tsuitachi Mairi (Monthly 1st) — Monthly worship service where prayers are offered for those experiencing political or social defeat, unemployment, or forced relocation. The shrine has become an unofficial pilgrimage site for people who feel history has treated them unfairly.
• Tōchi-hime Matsuri (September 23) — Festival honoring Princess Tōchi, featuring offerings of medicinal herbs and a ceremonial tea service, reflecting her legendary role as village healer.

Late autumn, particularly November, when the surrounding mountains turn to copper and gold, and morning mist gathers in the valley. The isolation of the shrine is most palpable in this season, when few tourists venture into the Bōsō interior and the cedar forest amplifies the sense of historical refuge. The May 15 festival draws scholars of ancient history and enthusiasts of alternative historical narratives. Early morning visits allow solitary contemplation of the grounds before the small museum opens at 9 AM.