is a Shinto shrine in Hidaka

Hidaka, Kochi

is a village located in Takaoka District, Kōchi, Japan.As of 2003, the village has an estimated population of 5,917 and a density of 131.84 persons per km²...

, Takaoka District

Takaoka District, Kochi

is a district located in Kōchi, Japan.As of the Shimanto merger but with 2003 population statistics, the district has an estimated population of 68,854 and a density of 45.1 persons per km²...

, Kōchi Prefecture

Kochi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the south coast of Shikoku. The capital is the city of Kōchi.- History :Prior to the Meiji Restoration, Kōchi was known as Tosa Province and was controlled by the Chosokabe clan in the Sengoku period and the Yamauchi family during the Edo period.- Geography...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

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The shrine was founded in 587, but the present main building (shaden) of the shrine dates to 1705. The Japanese cedar

Cryptomeria

Cryptomeria is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae; it includes only one species, Cryptomeria japonica . It is endemic to Japan, where it is known as Sugi...

 behind the main building is considered sacred and said to be 1000 years old. It has been designated by the village as natural monument (村指定天然記念物). According to legend, the tree top is said to shine at times of emergency. Because of this, the tree is also called .

The object of worship or shintai

Shintai

In Shinto, , or when the honorific prefix go- is used, are physical objects worshiped at or near Shinto shrines as repositories in which spirits or kami reside...

 of the shrine is a sword, the National Treasure . Offered to Kunitokotachi

Kunitokotachi

In Japanese mythology, is one of the two gods born from "something like a reed that arose from the soil" when the earth was chaotic. In the Nihon Shoki, he is named "Kuni-toko-tachi no mikoto" and is the first of the first three divinities born after heaven and earth were born out of chaos, and...

 by the Kusakabe clan at the time of foundation, this double-edged blade is said to be the oldest Japanese object transmitted from generation to generation. This straight sword dates to the late Kofun period

Kofun period

The is an era in the history of Japan from around 250 to 538. It follows the Yayoi period. The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from this era. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period...

, weighs 527 g (18.6 oz), has a length (distance from the notch to the tip of the sword) of 68.4 cm (26.9 in), a hilt length of 7.5 cm (3 in) and a scabbard

Scabbard

A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. Scabbards have been made of many materials over the millennia, including leather, wood, and metals such as brass or steel.-Types of scabbards:...

 length of 92.1 cm (36.3 in). The tachi is on public display at the shrine's yearly grand festival on November 15.

Two late Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 wooden masks of Boddhisattvas designated as Important Cultural Properties and two mirrors featuring a Hōrai design designated as prefectural tangible cultural properties are in possession of the shrine. Other notable treasures held by the shrine include a piece of Sue ware

Sue ware

was a blue-gray form of high-fired pottery which was produced in Japan and southern Korea during the Kofun, Nara, and Heian periods of Japanese history. It was initially used for funerary and ritual objects, and originated from a Korean stoneware style known as “Kaya ware”...

, two bronze hoko, a vertical picture attributed to Ono no Michikaze

Ono no Michikaze

was a prominent Shodōka who lived in the Heian period . One of the so-called Sanseki 三跡 , along with Fujiwara no Sukemasa and Fujiwara no Yukinari...

, a munafuda (棟札) ridge tag with information on the building's construction from 1240, nine painted wooden hengaku votive plaques of the 36 poets

Thirty-six Poetry Immortals

The Thirty-six Poetry Immortals are a group of Japanese poets of the Nara, Asuka and Heian periods selected by Fujiwara no Kintō as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability. There are five female poets among them...

 and a tanzaku (narrow strip of paper) with waka

Waka (poetry)

Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...

 by Emperor Go-Nara

Emperor Go-Nara

Emperor Go-Nara was the 105th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from June 9, 1526 until September 27, 1557, at the end of the Sengoku period. His personal name was Tomohito .-Genealogy:He was the second son of Emperor Go-Kashiwabara...

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Omura-Jinja-Mae Station on the Dosan Line

Dosan Line

is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by the Shikoku Railway Company . It runs between Tadotsu Station in Tadotsu, Kagawa and Kubokawa Station in Shimanto, Kōchi. The line links the city of Kōchi with northern Shikoku and the island of Honshū via the Seto-Ōhashi Line...

was opened in 2008 and is named after Omura Shrine. It is located about 300 m (984.3 ft) south of the shrine.