Tawaramoto-cho
Kagamitsukuri Shrine (Shrine of Mirror Making)


Before the Kofun Period
God of Mirror Making

During the 4th to 5th centuries, mirror makers (kagamitsukuri-be) lived in this area. Mirrors were thought very important since people believed that the spirit of a person gazing into a mirror dwells within the mirror. The shrine is dedicated to three deities, all connected with the making of bronze mirrors by casting techniques. The shrine was traditionally worshipped as the guardian of mirror makers and even today is visited by the people in the mirror industry. The partially edge-less mirror with a motif of the three deities and two beasts (stored as the shrine's treasure) is assumed to have been used as the gold prototype for mirror casting molds.
On the Sunday nearest to February 21 each year, in prayer for rain and an abundant harvest is held the "Otaue" festival, in which a rice-planting dance, harvest dance and cow taming are presented.

Source: The Tawaramoto municipal government

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