Mekari Shrine

Dedicated to Seoritsuhime, the deity said to govern the tides, Mekari Shrine has been worshiped since ancient times. It stands at the foot of the Kanmon Bridge connecting Honshu and Kyushu, and its shrine building facing the Kanmon Strait makes a striking impression.

The shrine is said to have a history of more than 1,800 years, and its name, “Mekari,” means “harvesting wakame seaweed.” Since its founding, it has continued the “Mekari Shinto Ritual.” During this ritual, held every year from midnight to early morning on the first day of the old lunar calendar, Yudate Kagura is first dedicated to express wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, the sources of all things. After that, Shinto priests enter the sea and, guided by torchlight, harvest wakame and arame seaweed to offer before the deity.

In 2019, the amulet office was renovated with the concept of “shadow and light.” Its stylish offerings have also attracted attention, including fortune slips shaped like pufferfish, a local specialty that is also popular as a lucky item because “fugu” can be associated with “good fortune,” as well as white-themed amulets and tenugui hand towels. The shrine also offers memorial sea scattering services in the Kanmon Strait.