Nara City Tourism Association

This is a subsidiary shrine of Kasugataisha Shrine, located on the eastern banks of Sarusawa Pond. According to a poetic tale from the mid-Heian period (794–1185), a beautiful court attendant who served the emperor during the Nara period (710–794) lamented that the emperor no longer favored her, which led her to throw herself into the pond. The shrine is said to have been built to appease her spirit. The shrine building stands with its back to the torii gate and Sarusawa Pond. That is because there is a legend that the shrine turned its back on the pond overnight, unable to bear looking at the pond where the lady had drowned. Every year on the harvest moon, the Uneme Matsuri (Uneme Festival) takes place here to honor the spirit of the lady-in-waiting and pray for the happiness of the people. 

The annual festival begins with the procession for the offering of flower fans, in which the bearers of the flower fans, dressed in period costumes, parade through the city. After the rituals of the Unemejina Shrine's annual festival, the flower fans are transferred to a boat, and the ritual is held. During this ceremony, the boat travels around the pond to the tunes of Japanese court music. Finally, the flower fans are thrown into the pond, and prayers are offered to appease Uneme's spirit. The boat floating in the moonlight, along with the people dressed in traditional costumes, creates an elegant and magical landscape.

*Entry to the precincts of the shrine is only permitted during events.