Yamaguchi Daijingu

Yamaguchi Daijingu was founded in 1520 (Eisho 17) by Ouchi Yoshioki, the 30th head of the Ouchi clan, who enshrined branch spirits of the Ise Shrine in Yamaguchi. The outer shrine (Geku) was completed in November 1519, and the inner shrine (Naiku) in April 1520, with the formal enshrinement occurring on June 29 of that year. Throughout the Edo period it was the only shrine in all of Japan to have received imperial permission to enshrine a branch spirit of Ise, drawing pilgrims from across western Japan. Beloved as the 'Ise Shrine of the West,' it enshrines Amaterasu Oomikami in the inner shrine and Toyouke Oomikami in the outer shrine, and was listed as a Prefectural Shrine (Kensha) in 1928.