Oji Shrine
Shinto worship and living sacred practice at Oji Shrine
Kita City, Tokyo, Japan
Plan this visit
Practical context before you go
Allow enough time to avoid rushing worship, but do not remain in a way that blocks circulation or a service.
1-chōme-1-12 Ōjihonchō, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0022. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.
Pause at the torii, use the purification basin when it is open, and approach the worship hall without blocking the central path. At the offering box, visitors commonly bow twice, clap twice, offer a silent prayer, and bow once; posted shrine guidance takes precedence.
At a glance
- Coordinates
- 35.7533, 139.7359
- Type
- Shinto Shrine
- Suggested duration
- Allow enough time to avoid rushing worship, but do not remain in a way that blocks circulation or a service.
- Access
- 1-chōme-1-12 Ōjihonchō, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0022. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.
Pilgrim tips
- Wear clean, modest clothing. Step around sacred ropes, barriers, and prepared ritual areas.
- Photograph only from public areas and never during rites without permission. Ask before photographing worshippers, attendants, or the interior of the sanctuary.
- Do not improvise ritual, promise spiritual results, interrupt prayer, or handle devotional objects without invitation.
Pilgrim glossary
- Torii
- The traditional Japanese gate marking the entrance to a Shinto sacred area.
- Mikoshi
- A portable Shinto shrine carried during festivals to bring a deity into the community.
Overview
Oji Shrine (王子神社) is an active Shinto sacred place in Tokyo. The record is grounded in an exact Google Place ID, nearby coordinates, institutional or reference evidence, and a rights-cleared image of the site. Visit as a guest of a worshipping community: observe posted boundaries, keep rites and prayer unobstructed, and verify changing access information with the institution.
Ōji Shrine (王子神社, Ōji-jinja) is a Shinto shrine located in the Kita ward of Tokyo, Japan. Established during the Kamakura period, most likely around 1321–1324, the shrine gives the name of "Ōji" to this area of the city. Most of the original buildings in the shrine precincts were destroyed during World War II, and were rebuilt from the late 50s to 1982. It is notable for its giant ginkgo tree, suspected to be 600 years old and designated a Natural Monument in 1939, and for its annual festival (held in August), which includes a mikoshi parade and a performance of dengaku dance. It is one of the Tokyo Ten Shrines (東京十社, Tokyo Jissha), of which it has been designated as the "northern protector shrine". The exact date in which the Ōji Shrine was founded is not known, but according to a stone with inscriptions (designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Tokyo) still standing beside the ginkgo tree, near the shrine precincts, Toyoshima contributed to found the shrine between 1321 and 1324. Pilgrim Map presents this site through documented identity and living religious practice, not through star ratings or promises of transformation. Architecture and historical associations can help orient a visit, but they do not replace the meaning made by worship, teaching, memorial practice, service, and care. Visitors should distinguish institutional tradition from independently documented history, especially where a foundation narrative, miraculous account, political memory, or popular origin claim is involved. Approach slowly, read the room before acting, and allow regular worshippers to set the pace.
Context and lineage
Ōji Shrine (王子神社, Ōji-jinja) is a Shinto shrine located in the Kita ward of Tokyo, Japan. Established during the Kamakura period, most likely around 1321–1324, the shrine gives the name of "Ōji" to this area of the city. Most of the original buildings in the shrine precincts were destroyed during World War II, and were rebuilt from the late 50s to 1982. It is notable for its giant ginkgo tree, suspected to be 600 years old and designated a Natural Monument in 1939, and for its annual festival (held in August), which includes a mikoshi parade and a performance of dengaku dance. It is one of the Tokyo Ten Shrines (東京十社, Tokyo Jissha), of which it has been designated as the "northern protector shrine". The exact date in which the Ōji Shrine was founded is not known, but according to a stone with inscriptions (designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Tokyo) still standing beside the ginkgo tree, near the shrine precincts, Toyoshima contributed to found the shrine between 1321 and 1324.
Oji Shrine belongs to the living Shinto context documented by its institutional and exact-entity sources.
Why this place is sacred
A map can show the threshold of Oji Shrine; it cannot determine what the place means for every devotee. Quiet attention is more responsible than assigning a single mood, energy, or spiritual effect. Notice how people prepare to enter, where they pause, and which spaces remain protected, while avoiding imitation or intrusion.
The cited sources identify Oji Shrine as an exact Shinto institution and provide the bounded historical context summarized here.
The site's present form reflects continuity as well as rebuilding, institutional change, and the work of successive communities. Specific claims are limited to the cited record.
Traditions and practice
Pause at the torii, use the purification basin when it is open, and approach the worship hall without blocking the central path. At the offering box, visitors commonly bow twice, clap twice, offer a silent prayer, and bow once; posted shrine guidance takes precedence.
Current practice and participation at Oji Shrine follow the institution's own guidance. Do not infer permission from what another visitor does.
Notice the threshold, the order of movement, and the care given to sacred objects without turning observation into performance.
Shinto
ActiveOji Shrine is an active Shinto place in Tokyo. Its sacred meaning belongs first to the worshipping community, its documented history, and its continuing care—not to popularity metrics.
Pause at the torii, use the purification basin when it is open, and approach the worship hall without blocking the central path. At the offering box, visitors commonly bow twice, clap twice, offer a silent prayer, and bow once; posted shrine guidance takes precedence.
Experience and perspectives
Begin with the site's present threshold rather than a checklist. Put away conversation and devices when worship is underway, yield to people making offerings or attending services, and accept closures without pressing for access. A respectful visit may be brief. Its value does not depend on witnessing a ceremony, entering every building, or producing photographs.
Use the official site and posted notices to distinguish public grounds from worship, residential, administrative, memorial, or conservation spaces.
Read Oji Shrine through its living Shinto community alongside documented history, architecture, and urban context.
Institutional and exact-entity sources establish identity and bound the historical account. Unresolved or contested claims remain explicitly attributed.
According to its tradition, sacred meaning is encountered through worship, teaching, remembrance, and the relationships sustained by the community.
No paranormal, medical, therapeutic, or guaranteed transformative effect is claimed.
Visit planning
1-chōme-1-12 Ōjihonchō, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0022. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.
No lodging recommendation is made; use current, independent accessibility and accommodation information.
Pause at the torii, use the purification basin when it is open, and approach the worship hall without blocking the central path. At the offering box, visitors commonly bow twice, clap twice, offer a silent prayer, and bow once; posted shrine guidance takes precedence.
Wear clean, modest clothing. Step around sacred ropes, barriers, and prepared ritual areas.
Photograph only from public areas and never during rites without permission. Ask before photographing worshippers, attendants, or the interior of the sanctuary.
Use only offering and donation channels authorized by Oji Shrine; never leave substitute objects or food without permission.
Respect barriers, private rooms, protected fabric, sacred interiors, and any temporary restriction announced by staff.
Plan your visit
Address
日本、〒114-0022 東京都北区王子本町１丁目１−１２
Phone
Hours
Hours, fees, and access can change — verify on the official source before you travel. Practical details last checked Aug 2026.
Nearby sacred places
Sacred places within a half-day’s reach. Pilgrims often visit them together: walk one, stay for the other.
References
Sources consulted when researching this page. Independent verification by readers is welcome.
- 01- 王子神社 - — 王子神社high-reliability
- 02Ōji Shrine — Wikipedia contributors
- 03王子神社 (東京都北区) — Japanese Wikipedia contributors
- 04Wikidata entity Q11573004 — Wikidata contributors
- 05Oji Shrine Google Maps place record — Google
- 06File:Oji Shrine 01.JPG — Wikimedia Commons contributors
Key questions
What pilgrims usually ask
- Why is Oji Shrine considered sacred?
- Visit Oji Shrine with verified historical context, living Shinto significance, practical access notes, respectful etiquette, and cited sources.
- What should I wear at Oji Shrine?
- Wear clean, modest clothing. Step around sacred ropes, barriers, and prepared ritual areas.
- Can I take photos at Oji Shrine?
- Photograph only from public areas and never during rites without permission. Ask before photographing worshippers, attendants, or the interior of the sanctuary.
- How long should I spend at Oji Shrine?
- Allow enough time to avoid rushing worship, but do not remain in a way that blocks circulation or a service.
- How do you visit Oji Shrine?
- 1-chōme-1-12 Ōjihonchō, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0022. Confirm the route, accessibility, opening status, and event-day restrictions through the official site and exact map record before travel.
- What offerings are appropriate at Oji Shrine?
- Use only offering and donation channels authorized by Oji Shrine; never leave substitute objects or food without permission.
- What etiquette should visitors follow at Oji Shrine?
- Pause at the torii, use the purification basin when it is open, and approach the worship hall without blocking the central path. At the offering box, visitors commonly bow twice, clap twice, offer a silent prayer, and bow once; posted shrine guidance takes precedence.
- What is the history of Oji Shrine?
- Ōji Shrine (王子神社, Ōji-jinja) is a Shinto shrine located in the Kita ward of Tokyo, Japan. Established during the Kamakura period, most likely around 1321–1324, the shrine gives the name of "Ōji" to this area of the city. Most of the original buildings in the shrine precincts were destroyed during World War II, and were rebuilt from the late 50s to 1982. It is notable for its giant ginkgo tree, suspected to be 600 years old and designated a Natural Monument in 1939, and for its annual festival (held in August), which includes a mikoshi parade and a performance of dengaku dance. It is one of the Tokyo Ten Shrines (東京十社, Tokyo Jissha), of which it has been designated as the "northern protector shrine". The exact date in which the Ōji Shrine was founded is not known, but according to a stone with inscriptions (designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Tokyo) still standing beside the ginkgo tree, near the shrine precincts, Toyoshima contributed to found the shrine between 1321 and 1324.