Togoshi Hachiman Shrine

Tucked into the Togoshi neighborhood of Shinagawa Ward, Togoshi Hachiman Shrine is a lively place of worship deeply tied to the surrounding community. The popular Togoshi Ginza shopping street sits just nearby, and the whole area regularly comes together for local events.

A historic shrine marking 500 years in 2026

The shrine traces its origins to 1526, when a sacred image is said to have appeared at the local spring, and a small thatched hermitage was built nearby to enshrine it. The deity worshipped here is Emperor Ōjin, revered as a god of warding off misfortune and bringing good luck. He is also honored as a foundational figure of Japanese scholarship and statecraft, and as a guardian deity of industry. For centuries, the shrine has been worshipped as the protector of the local land.

Famous for granting heartfelt wishes

The Fortune-Sharing Monkey, fukuwake-zaru. According to legend, a monkey and a rabbit lived in the spring where the sacred image first appeared, and statues of both now sit at the shrine's entrance.

The original hermitage that became Togoshi Hachiman Shrine had such a reputation for granting wishes immediately that it was even mentioned in classical poems of the time. People came to call it Jōjuan, meaning the hermitage where wishes come true.

Today, two stone figures stand near the entrance to the main hall. One is yumekanau-usagi, the wish-granting rabbit, and the other is fukuwake-zaru, the fortune-sharing monkey. Stroking the rabbit, visitors say, will make a wish come true. Near the kagura hall, there is another tradition involving small white stones known as ryūjin-sama no nengan oshiraishi, the dragon god's prayer stones. If you can toss three of them into the offering box, your wish is said to be granted.