Hayaakitsuhime Shrine, located along National Route 219 near the Hitotsuse Dam in Saito City, Miyazaki Prefecture, is an ancient Shinto shrine dedicated to Hayaakitsuhime-no-Mikoto, the goddess who presides over the purification of water. Behind the main sanctuary, a clear waterfall flows through the sacred forest, where worshippers have performed misogi—the Shinto rite of ritual purification—for centuries.
Meanwhile, Mt. Osuzu, rising behind Tsuno Shrine, the First Shrine (Ichinomiya) of the former Hyuga Province, is home to the famous Yatogi Falls. According to local tradition, the gods once sharpened their arrows and purified themselves beneath these cascading waters before setting out on their divine endeavors.
Both sites are sacred places where abundant water and ancient mountain worship have been inseparably intertwined. From the Hitotsuse River basin to the forests of Mt. Osuzu, the mountains of Hyuga have preserved a long-standing spiritual tradition that reveres water as a sacred gift of nature. Hayaakitsuhime Shrine stands today as one of the most important spiritual symbols of this enduring faith.
