Mendake Shrine （めんだけじんじゃ）

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Area: Iki

Category: History＆Culture

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Mendake Shrine stands on Mt. Mendake, which stands on the opposite side of a dam, across from Mt. Ondake that houses Ondake Shrine. Mendake Shrine is dedicated to Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, a goddess from Japanese mythology. She became the wife of the god Sarutahiko-no-Mikoto, who is the deity enshrined at Ondake Shrine, and so it is said that visiting both shrines will bring luck to people who wish to find good partners.

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Information

Address		811-5465　長崎県壱岐市芦辺町箱崎釘ノ尾触１０１
Access		20 minutes by car from Ashibe Port
Website		Tripadvisor

The goddess Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto is venerated at Mendake Shrine. She is the ancestral deity of Japanese performing arts, and so she is believed to bestow blessings on the arts as well as on marriages.
A story about this goddess, who is well-known in Japan, is written in the Kojiki, the oldest chronicle of this country. Long ago, the sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami hid inside a rock cave because she could no longer bear her younger brother’s unruly behavior, and this plunged the world into darkness. In an effort to draw out Amaterasu, the goddess Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto stood in front of the cave and began to dance. This was so entertaining that it made the gods laugh, and Amaterasu finally came out of the cave to see what the commotion was about. And so, the world was bathed in light once again.