Kurami Shrine (倉見神社)

The torii of Sengen Okami and Kurami Shrine

Honden of Kurami Shrine

Located in the Kurami area of Samukawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, near the tracks of the Tokaido Shinkansen, is a Shinto shrine called Kurami Shrine (倉見神社), which enshrines the kami (deities) Amaterasu Omikami (天照皇大神) and Kumano Kamurogi no Mikoto (熊野加武呂伎命).

The exact founding date of the shrine is unclear. It is said that when Nakayama Hikohachiro (中山彦八郎), a retainer of the Odawara Hojo clan, governed Kurami Village, he enshrined the kami of Shinmei-sha (神明社) and Kumano-sha (熊野社), which are believed to be the origins of the shrine.

In 1869, Shinmei-sha and Kumano-sha were merged with several smaller shrines in the village and renamed Kurami Okami (倉見大神).

Haiden of Kurami Shrine

In 1895, during the reconstruction of the main hall of Samukawa-jinja Shrine, the former structure, originally built in 1741, was relocated to Kurami Okami and repurposed as its honden (main sanctuary). It is considered the oldest surviving building in Samukawa and was designated an Important Cultural Property of Samukawa on December 1, 1978.

In November 1943, the shrine was renamed Kurami Shrine (倉見神社).

The current haiden (worship hall) was originally built as the haiden of Samukawa-jinja Shrine and was relocated to Kurami Shrine in September 1994 during the Heisei reconstruction of Samukawa-jinja Shrine.

Behind the shrine's torii (shrine gate) stand two zelkova trees called Meoto-Keyaki (夫婦欅), which literally translates to "husband and wife zelkova trees." The larger tree has a trunk circumference of over 5.2 meters and stands approximately 20 meters tall. The trees were designated as an Important Cultural Property of Samukawa on December 1, 1978, and are the only designated natural monument in Samukawa.

Meoto-Keyaki

Sengen Okami (浅間大神)

Sengen Okami 

Next to Kurami Shrine's torii stands a stone monument engraved with the words "浅間大神" (Sengen Okami). Sengen Okami is a subordinate shrine of Kurami Shrine.

Its founding date is unclear, but it is said that during the Tensho era (1573–1592), Takagi Jintaro (高木甚太郎) established a military outpost in Kurami Village where the kami of Sengen Okami was enshrined.

In February 1883, because the shrine building had fallen into severe disrepair, a stone monument was erected in its place. In October 1985, the monument was repaired after cracks appeared in the stone.