Myojinbara Ruins

In the south-eastern slope of Mt. Kiyama, in a place known as Octopus Head for the way it juts out into the plains, the landscape is scattered with massive stones. Among them, is one known as Eboshi-iwa (a formal headwear for court nobles in Heian Period). It said that this was the very site where Provincial Governor Sugawara no Michizane recited prayers and performed a rainmaking ritual to the god of Mt. Kiyama.
He was appointed from the capital to Sanuki in 886 (Ninna 2), and carried out the ritual in 888 (Ninna 4) when a severe drought hit the region.

The god answered his pleas, releasing a magnificent shower of rain that delighted the people. Out of the people’s gratitude, a dance emerged - Nenbutsu Odori, passed down through generations ever since. Myojinbara is also said to be the original site of Kiyama Shrine, long revered as a sacred place where the gods were believed to descend.