About
In a corner of Mukojima, Sumida Ward, Tokyo’s old downtown, there is a place where tranquility and history are alive. That place is Mimeguri Shrine. Stepping into its grounds, the bustle of the city seems to vanish as if it were a lie, and time flows gently.
The origins of this shrine are uncertain, but according to legend, it began in the early Heian period when Kobo Daishi enshrined Tanaka Inari at this site. During the Nanboku-cho period, when Genkei, a monk from Miidera Temple in Omi Province, tried to rebuild the dilapidated shrine, he discovered a deity statue of an old man riding a white fox buried in the ground. At that moment, a white fox appeared from nowhere, circled the statue three times, and then disappeared. This mysterious event is said to be the origin of the name “Mimeguri” (“three circuits”). (visit-sumida.jp)
During the Edo period, in the great drought of Genroku 6 (1693), the haiku poet Hokai Kikaku composed a poem at this shrine: “If you are the god who watches over the rice fields, let there be an evening shower.” The next day, a blessed rain fell. This story spread throughout Edo, enhancing the fame of Mimeguri Shrine. (goshuin.net)
Additionally, the Mitsui family, who expanded into Edo, deeply revered this shrine as their guardian deity. It is said that because the character for “kakomu” (“to surround”) in “Mimeguri” encloses the character for “well” (“i”), it was interpreted as “protecting Mitsui,” or that the shrine’s location was in the unlucky direction (kimon) from the Mitsui family’s headquarters, so it was worshipped as protection against misfortune. Even today, the shrine receives faith from various Mitsui Group companies, and on the grounds stand a lion statue relocated from Mitsukoshi Ikebukuro Store and the Kennarei-sha, which enshrines the Mitsui family’s ancestors. (mitsuipr.com)
Within the grounds stands a rare three-pillared torii, modeled after the one at Kono Shrine in Uzumasa, Kyoto. There are also a three-holed stone lantern and shrine buildings dedicated to Daikokushin and Ebisu, two of the Seven Lucky Gods of Sumida River, delighting visitors’ eyes. (sa-ka-ki.com)
If you visit Mimeguri Shrine, wrapped in history and tranquility far from the city’s noise, you will feel as if your heart is cleansed. Here, faith passed down through the ages and the atmosphere of Edo still live on.