Tsushima Shrine

Tsushima Shrine in Tsushima City, Aichi Prefecture, is the head shrine (sōhonsha) of approximately 3,000 Tsushima and Tennō shrines across Japan, making it one of the largest shrine networks in the country. Its principal deity is Takehayasusanoo-no-mikoto (Susanoo), enshrined here since ancient times as a protector against plague and epidemic disease through the syncretic Gozu Tennō cult. Shrine tradition places its founding in 540 CE (year 1 of Emperor Kimmei), though the earliest documentary evidence is a 1175 CE sutra colophon mentioning "Tsushima-sha." The shrine received patronage from the Oda and Toyotomi clans in the Sengoku period. The current hon-den (1605) and rōmon gate (1591) are both designated National Important Cultural Properties, built under Matsudaira Tadayoshi's sponsorship. The shrine's signature event is the Owari Tsushima Tennō Festival (fourth Saturday and Sunday of July), designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Elaborately decorated festival boats float lantern-lit processions across the Tenno River at night, creating one of the most visually spectacular summer festivals in the Nagoya region.

Tsushima Shrine is located in Tsushima-shi, Aichi. The full address is: 1 Shinmei-cho, Tsushima-shi, Aichi.

The enshrined deities are: Susanoo no Mikoto.