Shirogane-jinja Shrine
Established in the Nara period (710-794), this shrine on Cape Shiroganezaki is regarded as a “power spot,” a place of great natural beauty that has rejuvenating and energizing effects. The dense forest surrounding the road to the shrine was once a deer-hunting ground for the Date family, the daimyo lords who ruled the area in early modern times. A moss-covered stone torii gate marks the boundary between the woods and the shrine grounds, and old stone lanterns adorned with deer motifs line the trail leading up to the main structure. It is forbidden to take as much as a pebble from these sacred grounds.
Visitors are permitted to enter the shrine’s main building, which has been reconstructed twice over the centuries. Inside the vermillion walls are works of traditional Japanese art thought to date back to the Edo period (1603–1868). The hiking trail continues past the main building to a lighthouse overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The lighthouse is off limits to visitors, but from the promontory, on clear days, the sacred island of Kinkasan is visible in the distance.