Futenma Shrine

Tori at Futenma Shrine

After lunch in Mihama, the second stop on the “Castles, Homes and Gardens” tour was Futenma Shrine in Ginowan. Futenma is the most prominent Shinto shrine on Okinawa and its history is based on Okinawan legend. Many centuries ago, a beautiful and modest girl lived with her family in Naha, the capital of Okinawa. One day, her sister allowed a man to peek at her through a window, and frightened, she ran the distance from Naha to Ginowan and hid in a cave. When she was found, she has turned into a pure white deity, a reward for her modesty. Okinawans built the shrine above the cave to honor and venerate the beautiful deity who is said to live part of the year in a sacred part of the shrine and the other part in a smaller shrine in the cave.

At the shrine, we learned that after passing through the tori gate, worshippers ritually cleanse their hands and mouth at a small fountain of water before proceeding to the main building to pray or make an offering to the deity. To pray, the shrine visitor follows the custom of tossing a small coin into a large box and clapping two times before making their request. Shinto practitioners can visit the shrine to pray at any time, but the most popular times to make a shrine visit are New Years Day, before exams, or other important life events. We were able to watch a Shinto priest receive prayer requests, and also perform a ritual to clear the air of negative spirits. After, a priestess in training led us behind the main building and down some steps to the caves beneath the shrine.

View of the shrine from a Ginowan street. We were asked not to take pictures toward the shrine after we passed through the tori gate.

The caves beneath the shrine and home to the white deity. The caves also served as a hiding place for Okinawans in World War II.