Also on the Unesco World Heritage List, this shrine has provided refuge for important historical figures and now displays scrolls, armour, nō (stylised dance-drama) masks and painted fusuma (sliding doors) from those times. Swordsman and general Minamoto Yoshitsune fled here after incurring the wrath of his brother, the first Kamakura shogun. After a dispute for succession in Kyoto, emperor Go-Daigo set up a rival court in Yoshino and stayed here during palace construction. Toyotomi Hideyoshi hosted a 5000-person hanami (blossom-viewing) party in 1594.
From Kimpusen-ji, continue 300m to a side road to the left (the first turn past the post office) leading to this shrine. There are good views back to Kimpusen-ji and the hito-me-sen-bon viewpoint.
