Tamukeyama Hachimangu (手向山八幡宮) is a Shinto shrine, dedicated to the Hachiman kami and established in 749. It is located just down the road from Sangatsudou, and created to protect the Toudaiji. Hachiman is the deified spirit of Emperor Oujin. He reigned around the 3rd-4th century AD, and worship of the deity fuse elements of Shinto and Buddhism religions.
This is the side entrance walking from the Sangatsudou.
The water house.
The stage (Kaguraden).
The main shrine (Honden).
There’s a souvenir shop here selling extremely cute objects.
The shrine grounds are quite extensive, with various buildings scattered in between stone lanterns. A small creek runs through here. I found the whole area to be rather beautiful and mysterious, especially just after the rain. Near the exit are two lion statues.
As we exited the shrine, we walked down the path towards the Kasuga Taisha Shrine (春日大社), and passed through a very pretty wooded area.
I remember there was a toilet near here which I used, and a vending machine next to the toilet that served hot coffee. We were so hungry we bought the hot coffee (it came in a can which the machine heated up prior to serving) – it tasted a lot better than I expected, or perhaps it was the hunger that made me like it.
Full set of photos:
