The Blue Aso shrine

#getgoing2025 It is a shrine that represents Hitoyoshi and was founded in 806. The existing shrines were built in the early Edo period, and in 2008, the main hall, corridor, hei hall, worship hall, and romon were designated as national treasures. The yin and yang pair of demon faces in the four corners of the 12-metre-high tower gate roof is called the Hitoyoshi style because it can only be seen at Aoi Aso Shrine. The "Okunchi Festival", the largest festival in the Hitoyoshi Kuma region, held every October, is a traditional event that has been going on since the Heian period. There is a Kuma Kagura and a Kamiko procession where more than 200 people form a line and walk through Hitoyoshi City, and it is said that if a lion in the procession bites his head, it will benefit from being free from illness and disaster.