Okuwa village has 17 shrines, in which Hakusan shrine in Tono area, built in 1334, is the most remarkable since it has old shrines that are designated as a National Important Cultural Properties. Note that other architectures than the small four shrines in the warehouse are not the national properties. In details, read the below.
The gate of the shrine (Torii)
The gate of the shrine is a boundary between this world and the holy world.
The stone lanterns (Ishi Douro)
The stone lantern were placed at the gate or along an approach as donations by worshipper. It was said that lighting the lantern means offering prayers to a god.
The approach stone stair (Ishidan)
Each step of the stair makes a worshipper pure and removes sins. So, going up the stairs toward the shrine gives you purity.
The hall of worship (Haiden)
The hall of worship is the place for worshipers to offer prayers to a god. It is in the precinct and called an outer shrine.
The fountain to wash hands and rinse mouths (Chozuya)
Before stepping the precinct, it is advised to clean your hands and mouth in order to remove impurity at the fountain.
The pair of stone guardian dogs (Komainu)
The pair of dogs guard the precinct from evil spirits. The right dog opens its mouth while the left dog closes it. Opening the mouth means beginning and closing means ending. So, a pair of them means the life of the universe.
The bell and bell rope (suzu and suzuo)
Before you offer prayers to a god, ring the bell by swinging the bell rope in order to notify the god that you are here. Otherwise, the god may not be aware of your prayers.
The main shrines (Honden)
The building behind the hall of worship is a warehouse that stores the four small shrines; Hakusan shrine, Zao shrine, Izu shrine and Kumano shrine, so called the inner shrines. Those were built in 1334 and have been designated as the National Important Cultural Properties in 1937. The warehouse is covered by nets and you can hardly see the shrines inside. There is a stair corridor between the hall of worship and the warehouse. So, from the entrance of the hall, you can see the entrance of the warehouse.
Outer mall shrines
Those are small shrines similar architecture to the main shrines but were later built than the main shrines in the warehouse. Those help you know how the main shrines are. These are not the National properties.
The monetary offering box (Saisen bako)
The monetary offering box in which you can throw money as a donation when you offer prayers.
A visit to Hakusan shrine will take you to the old Japan as a time machine.
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