This shrine is dedicated to the infant emperor Antoku, who entered the water while being embraced by a nun of the second rank during the Battle of Dannoura in the Genpei Era (the final battle in which the flourishing Heike clan was defeated and destroyed by the Minamoto clan). It is also famous for the mound enshrining a member of the Heike clan.
The temple was founded in 859 as Amidadera Temple, and until the Edo period (1603-1868), it was called Antoku-tenno Mikado, and was enshrined in the Buddhist style.
Amidadera Temple was the setting for “Hoichi the Earless,” but was turned into a shrine after the Kishaku (the movement to abolish Buddhism) was abolished.
Overlooking the Kanmon Straits, the temple has a vermilion-lacquered Suitenmon gate with white walls. Within the grounds are the tombs of the Heike clan, the Hall of Hoichi the Earless Hoichi, famous for the ghost story by Koizumi Yakumo, and the Treasure House, which displays valuable materials. The temple is illuminated at night.
Every year in May, the “Sentei Festival” is held in memory of the young emperor Antoku, and a gorgeous historical picture scroll is enacted, recreating a visit to Akama Jingu by a Heike courtesan.
Treasure Hall 9:00-16:30
No holidays
100 yen for the Treasure Hall
9 min. by bus from JR Shimonoseki Stn. to Akama Jingu-mae bus stop.
20 min. by bus from JR Shin-Shimonoseki Stn. and alight at Akama Jingu-mae bus stop.