Kōenji Hikawa Shrine (高円寺氷川神社) & Kishō (Weather) Shrine (気象神社)

Koenji Hikawa Shrine (高円寺氷川神社)

Koenji Hikawa Shrine

Koenji Hikawa Shrine (高円寺氷川神社) is a Shinto shrine located southeast of Koenji Station in the Koenjiminami area of Suginami-ku, Tokyo. It enshrines the kami (deity) Susanoo-no-Mikoto (素戔嗚尊).

According to the Edo Meisho Zue — an illustrated guidebook of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) published in 1834 and 1836 — some of Minamoto no Yoritomo's soldiers stayed behind in the Suginami area during his campaign to subdue Oshu. These soldiers eventually became farmers. Some accounts suggest they were from the Murata family, which later became prominent in the Koenji region. They are said to have met a messenger from Hikawa-jinja Shrine in the Takahana Area of Omiya, Musashi Province, who conveyed divine intentions, and subsequently founded Koenji Hikawa Shrine on a highland rich with cedar trees.

Other accounts suggest the shrine was established around the same time as Koenji Temple, which served as its betto-ji (a Buddhist temple that managed a Shinto shrine until the Edo period). Because old records were destroyed in fires, the exact origins remain unclear. The current shrine building was reconstructed in 1974 after the previous structure was destroyed during World War II.

Kisho (Weather) Shrine (気象神社)

Kisho (Weather) Shrine

Display board showing weather data at the shrine's entrance

On the west side of Koenji Hikawa Shrine is Japan's only weather shrine, Kisho Shrine (気象神社). It enshrines Yagokoro Omoikane no Mikoto (八意思兼命), the kami believed to control eight types of weather: sunny, cloudy, rainy, thundery, windy, frosty, snowy, and foggy.

Kisho Shrine was founded in April 1944 within the Army Weather Department of the Imperial Japanese Army, as accurate weather forecasts were essential for military strategy. After World War II, the shrine was initially slated for removal under the Shinto Directive ending State Shinto, but it remained due to an oversight. The then-head priest of Koenji Hikawa Shrine, Minoru Yamamoto, decided to look after Kisho Shrine and it was relocated to the grounds of Koenji Hikawa Shrine. Its building was rebuilt in June 2003 to mark the 55th anniversary of the relocation.

Behind Kisho Shrine, visitors can find three subordinate Inari shrines and a couple of chikaraishi (stone-lifting stones).

Chikaraishi

Next to its torii (shrine gate) stands a statue of a calico cat named Miké-san (ミケさん), first seen at the shrine around 1998. In late 2017, it was reported that Miké-san had passed away peacefully behind the honden (main hall) of Koenji Hikawa Shrine, with its paws together as if in prayer.

Statue of Miké-san