Karasumori Shrine

The Karasumori Shrine sits squeezed between modern office buildings, marked by its vivid, vermilion-painted gate. It dates back to the mid-sixteenth century, built to honor local deities who supposedly helped the warrior Taira no Masakado. In the eighteen hundreds, a local priest reportedly prayed for the recovery of a sick child here, and the child survived. People began leaving messages of gratitude on the shrine walls, creating a tradition of written prayers that continues today on colorful, paper ribbons.