Hie Shrine

The Hie Shrine sits on a wooded hill in Nagata-cho between Japan's parliament and Akasaka, with worship documented since 1478. Tokugawa Ieyasu made it the guardian shrine of Edo Castle, and its principal deity Ōyamakui no Kami was venerated as protector of the shogunate's capital. The Sanno Matsuri, one of Edo's three great festivals, parades through central Tokyo in even-numbered years. A photogenic tunnel of densely packed red torii lines the back stairway – Tokyo's quieter answer to Fushimi Inari. Carved monkeys flank the main hall as messengers of the mountain god and protectors of childbirth. Civil servants from neighbouring ministries pray here at lunch, while most visitors discover it through the torii corridor.