Okitsushima Shrine

Okitsu-shima Shrine in Kikuta, Koriyama, Fukushima, is counted among the candidates for the Shikinaisha of Asaka District, Mutsu Province, listed in the Engishiki, and held the pre-war rank of prefectural shrine. According to tradition, when the Asaka Marshes spread like an inland sea across this land, the provincial lord erected a sacred precinct on Okitsu-shima Island and enshrined Takemikazuchi no Otoko no Kami, praying for peace and bountiful harvests. In 1643, Hoshina Masayuki, the lord of Aizu Domain, donated 7,513 tsubo of sacred grounds; subsequent construction and repairs were funded by the domain. The shrine was elevated from village shrine to prefectural shrine in 1898. Inside the worship hall hang thirty-six votive paintings depicting the Thirty-Six Poetry Immortals.