Tamura Shrine (Sanuki Ichinomiya)

Tamura Shrine, known as the Sanuki Ichinomiya, is the foremost Shinto shrine of the former Sanuki Province, today's Kagawa Prefecture. It stands in the Ichinomiya neighbourhood about seven kilometres south of central Takamatsu, and its long history, deep association with water and its surprisingly flamboyant decoration make it one of the most rewarding shrine visits in the region.

The shrine's records trace its founding to the year 709, and its status as the ichinomiya — the highest-ranked shrine of the province — meant that for over a thousand years provincial governors and pilgrims paid their respects here first. It enshrines five principal deities collectively revered as Tamura Okami, with a strong focus on water: the control of floods, the securing of irrigation and the blessing of agriculture. In a region historically prone to drought, with Kagawa's countless irrigation ponds a testament to the constant struggle for water, a powerful water shrine held enormous importance, and Tamura's prosperity reflects the gratitude of generations of farmers.

What surprises many visitors is the shrine's decoration. Where classic Shinto architecture prizes restraint and unpainted cypress, Tamura Shrine revels in colour and ornament — vivid vermilion and gold, intricate carvings, a famous golden dragon, statues and votive figures crowding the grounds, and an almost theatrical exuberance. The effect is joyful and a little eccentric, and it makes for wonderful, unexpected photography. A sacred well beneath the main hall is central to the shrine's identity as a water deity, and local legend warns that disturbing it invites the deity's wrath, a taboo that underlines how seriously the shrine's watery power was once taken.

Historically, Tamura Shrine and the neighbouring pilgrimage temple Ichinomiya-ji functioned as a single combined religious institution, in the syncretic fusion of Shinto and Buddhism that shaped Japanese religion for centuries. The forced separation of the two faiths in the Meiji era split them into the independent shrine and temple that sit side by side today — a living illustration of a pivotal moment in Japan's religious history.

The shrine is busiest and most colourful at New Year, when huge crowds come for hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year, and during its main festivals on 8 May and 8 October. Cherry blossom brings a softer beauty in spring. At quieter times the grounds are peaceful, shaded by old trees, and easy to combine with a visit next door to Ichinomiya-ji.

Practically, Tamura Shrine is very accessible: a level ten-minute walk from Kotoden's Ichinomiya Station, with parking and restrooms. Allow around 40 minutes to take in the ornate main hall, the golden dragon, the sacred well and the many smaller shrines and statues scattered through the grounds. Observe the usual shrine etiquette — bow at the torii, purify your hands and mouth at the water basin, and offer a coin, two bows, two claps and a final bow at the hall — and enjoy one of Kagawa's most characterful and historically significant sacred sites.