九州各地域の隠れた資源を磨き上げ、国内外へ発信

Centered at the heart of Yamaga city, Omiya Shrine is said to have been built after the remains of a temporal palace that was built almost 2,000 years ago by the twelfth emperor Emperor Keiko when he visited the Kyushu islands. The emperor has long been worshipped at the shrine as the guardian deity of the local community. Yamaga Tanbo Festival, one of the best summer festivals of Kyushu that takes place every year on August 15 and 16, originates from Omiya Shrine’s annual festival. Locals celebrate with agari toro (“rising lanterns”), which is a tradition that has continued for approximately 600 years since the Muromachi era, as well as with a torchlight procession, a toro dance of 1,000 performers, fireworks and more. Every year, a new Yamaga tanbo torch is given to the shrine as an offering for their torch palace exhibit. The shrine also has other highlights such as stone monuments of Sarutahiko god, said to be the largest in Kyushu, and a torii gate for visitors to walk through and pray for a healthy life.