Kashima Jingu
鹿島神宮
Kashima, Ibaraki · Shinto shrine
A vast forest shrine to the sword-and-thunder kami, where a stone said to pin down the earthquake catfish sits at the end of a 700-metre cedar path.
partial — Something on the site is restricted or hidden at the time of our last check.
Kashima Jingu enshrines Takemikazuchi, a kami of thunder and the sword who appears in the founding myths as the one sent down to negotiate — at sword-point — the transfer of the land. He is the patron of the martial arts, and the shrine has a long association with beginnings: with setting out, with the start of a campaign or an undertaking. That is a more specific thing to bring here than general good fortune.
It is also physically unlike the urban shrines most visitors see. The precinct is a large stretch of forest, and reaching the inner shrine means walking a cedar-lined path of about 700 metres. Beyond it is the Kaname-ishi, the pivot stone.
The shrine is open at all hours, every day of the year, which its own FAQ states plainly. One visitor detail is currently degraded, though, and it is covered below.
Which kami is enshrined here
- Takemikazuchi-no-Okami 武甕槌大神
- Kami of thunder and the sword, and of the founding of the land; patron of the martial arts. Written 建御雷神 in the Kojiki and 武甕槌神 in the Nihon Shoki.
- Takemikazuchi-no-Okami no Aramitama 武甕槌大神荒魂
- The 'rough spirit' aspect of the same kami, enshrined at the inner shrine, whose hall was donated by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1605.
Take part
What you can actually do here
The Kaname-ishi. A stone at the far end of the inner path, of which only a small rounded top is visible. It is said to run enormously deep and to hold down the head of the catfish whose movements cause earthquakes. Tokugawa Mitsukuni is recorded as having tried to dig it out, and as having given up. Walking out to it is the thing to do here — it is roughly 700 metres beyond the inner shrine and turns the visit into a proper walk through the forest.
The deer park. Deer are this kami's messengers, and the connection is genealogical rather than decorative: when Kasuga Taisha was founded in Nara, the deity was carried there from Kashima on the back of a deer, which is why Nara has deer at all. The shrine keeps around twenty. Feeding is currently suspended while the shop building is rebuilt; Kashima City's 2026 guide says no reopening date has been set.
Mitarashi Pond, fed by over 400,000 litres of spring water a day, is the shrine's purification site, and the Daikan Misogi is performed there in the depth of winter — around 20 January, not at New Year.
Outsiders can take part, and the shrine publishes the terms: applications open on 1 November by web form only, first 120 places, ¥3,000, about 200 participants come from all over Japan. Men wear a white fundoshi and headband, women a byakue. Under-15s and visible tattoos are excluded.
Etiquette
Where this place differs
Standard sequence. Two shrine rules that are stricter than usual: dogs may not enter the precinct at all, because they frighten the deer — assistance dogs excepted — and people within fifty days of a death in the family are asked to refrain from entering, with a purification available at the gate if the visit is unavoidable. Collecting plants, animals or soil is prohibited.
New to this? Read the full worship sequence first.
Goshuin
Getting the seal here
Offered at the amulet office, 8:30–16:30. Goshuincho are ¥1,500–2,000. The shrine does not state the regular Main Shrine or Inner Shrine seal fee on the pages we found.
The shrine's 2026 notice lists the commemorative Ofunasai seal at ¥500 for 1 August–6 September, then while remaining stock lasts after 6 September. Its paper-only arrangements were tied to that announced period. We have not confirmed the remaining stock or the current writing arrangements; check at the counter rather than assuming the commemorative seal has sold out.
Separately, from 1 January to 3 February each year it issues paper only — no writing into books, scrolls or boards.
Before you go
The treasure hall is gone, not closed — see the admission note. Guidebooks still send people to it.
The 2026 Shikinen Taisai Ofunasai was held on 1–3 September. The shrine's 5 September update thanked visitors and reported that the festival had been completed without incident. The event page recorded traffic controls, alternative parking and a free shuttle on 2 September; those arrangements belonged to that completed event and are no longer current access instructions.
Trains run about once an hour, and Suica and PASMO cannot be used on the Kashima Rinkai Railway section. Check the timetable before you commit to a return.
Map
Sources
This page draws on the following sources, most of them in Japanese.
Others people visit for the same reasons
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