About 1,500 years ago, the goddess of paper appeared upstream along the Okamoto River in Echizen. There, she taught papermaking skills to the local villagers.
Soon after, she was given the name Kawakami Gozen (“Upper River”),
and has since been worshiped as a goddess.
These events are also recorded in the Engishiki Jinmyouchou, a historical text that documented existing Japanese shrines in the year 926 CE.
今から約1500年前、「越前五箇」と呼ばれる越前市岡本地区を流れる川の上流に女神が現われ、
村人に紙漉きの技を伝えたといわれています。
そこで人々はこの女神を「川上御前」と崇め、岡太神社の祭神としました。
926年の「延喜式神名帳」にも記載されています。
Plans for Ōtaki Shrine began during the reign of Empress Suiko (593 – 628 C.E.). A man named Ōtomo Murashigi Ōtaki first proposed that the area be used for spiritual practice. Many years later, Taichō, a shugendō Buddhist monk, visited the Ōtaki area in 719. Taichō founded Ōtaki Shrine’s original structure, making it a suitable place to safeguard the goddess of paper (Kawakami Gozen).
Initially, the Ōtaki worship hall was regarded as a temple. However, it was designated a shrine during the Meiji Period, when the Japanese government enacted shinbutsu bunri, the official separation of Shintō from Buddhism.
一方、大瀧神社は推古天皇の時代、大伴連大瀧（おおとものむらじおおたき）の勧請に始まり、
719年にこの地を訪れた泰澄大師が、川上御前を守護神として祀る社として創建。
大瀧児権現と称して別当寺大瀧寺を建立しました。
その後、明治になり神仏分離令によって大瀧神社と改称されました。
Since then, Ōtaki Shrine has endured the ages, and the shrine’s devotion to the goddess of paper continues to this day. Even now, Ōtaki Shrine is an active institution that supports Echizen’s papermaking community. This area is thus a good place to call the “holy land of papermaking.”
以来、歴史のうねりの中で何度も消滅の危機にあいながらも、
大瀧神社の相殿に祀り、やがて摂社として境内に祀り、
今の時代へと繋いできた祭神の魂。いくつもの時代を超え、今もなお伝説が語り継がれるほど、
ここは“紙漉きの聖地”と呼ぶには相応しい場所です。
Okamoto Shrine and Ōtaki Shrine share the same main hall structure. The roof of this hall features two iconic front-facing curved gables, along with a series of angled gables.
The main hall was designated an important cultural property in 1984 for its representation of Edo period architecture.
The architectural style of the main hall is unlike any other in Japan. It is well known among architects for its unique and distinctive form. Visiting in person is the best way to view the main hall and absorb the peaceful atmosphere of the shrine grounds.
岡太・大瀧神社、両神社の本殿および拝殿は、
唐破風と千鳥破風のそれぞれの屋根が連続する神社本殿としては最も複雑な屋根形態を持つ建物。
江戸時代後期を代表する建物として、昭和59 年（1984）に国の重要文化財に指定されています。
全国でも類を見ない独特のフォルムは建築的な評価も高く、
この場所に訪れた人だけが静寂の中に放つ圧倒的な存在感を心に受け止めることができるのです。
約1300年続く、県の無形民俗文化財
「神と紙の郷」の祭り
Every year for the past 1,300 years, from May 3-5, a festival for the goddess of paper is held in the papermaking village. This festival features a portable shrine that holds the goddess of paper. On May 3, villagers ascend the nearby mountain and bring the enshrined paper goddess from the isolated inner sanctuary of the shrine to the main shrine hall located at the base of the mountain.
On May 4, villagers conduct rituals and offer prayers to the goddess of paper.
The festival comes to an end on May 5. Villagers parade the goddess of paper around the area, stopping at local shrines, homes, and studios. In the evening, they ascend the mountain with the portable shrine, returning the enshrined goddess of paper to her resting place at the inner sanctuary of the shrine.
毎年5月3日〜5日に開催される古式ゆかしき祭神事。
3日には奥の院から里宮へ神様を神輿でお迎えする儀式「お下り」、
4日が例大祭、5日の昼頃から里に下りられた神様が各集落を巡幸される「神輿渡り」が行われ、
夜には神様を神輿で奥の院にお送りする「お上がり」という儀式が執り行われます。
The Okamoto-Ōtaki festival is one of Japan’s few remaining festivals that adheres to traditional celebratory practices.
Additionally, 2018 marks the 1,300th anniversary of this festival. Thus, from May 2 to May 5, a grand festival will be held commemorating this occasion.
To celebrate the 1,300th anniversary, a visual representation of the goddess of paper will be featured for the first time in 8 years at nearby Goō Shrine. Additionally, the inner sanctuary of the shrine will open its doors to visitors for the first time in 50 years. Eight sacred texts will be displayed, and a lecture meeting will be held to discuss the texts and the history of the area.
岡太神社・大瀧神社の祭礼は古いしきたりを今も受け継ぐ、全国でも数少ない祭りです。
また、2018年は例大祭の1300周年を記念し、5月2日～5日に「千三百年大祭」を開催。
川上御前のご神像を五皇神社から8年ぶりにお迎えします。
さらに、50年に一度の御神忌（中開帳）も行われ、「法華八講」などの行事が営まれます。
