Hie Shrine
Hilltop Shinto shrine famed for its sacred stone monkeys and vermilion torii tunnel above a garden escalator.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Hie Shrine in Tokyo opens with a pun that built a religion: swap one vowel in the Japanese word for monkey and you get the word for a fated bond, which is why stone monkeys guard this hillside shrine and locals visit hoping for a soulmate. It traces the shrine back to 1478 and the warrior who built it to guard Edo Castle, then through Tokugawa Ieyasu's involvement and the fires that leveled it more than once. Look for the tunnel of red torii gates and the stone monkeys at the entrance as you listen.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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