Shirayama Hime Jinja

The shrine's deity Kukuri-Hime literally means 'to tie' or 'to bind,' making her the goddess of matchmaking who once helped creator gods Izanagi and Izanami reconcile their marital argument at the entrance to the underworld.

Shirayama Hime Jinja sorge ai piedi del Monte Hakusan, collegando direttamente il santuario a una delle principali montagne sacre del Giappone.

After being destroyed by fire in 1480, the shrine lay in ruins for over a century until warlord Maeda Toshiie restored it in the early Edo period. His clan's patronage helped it grow into the head of 2,000 Hakusan shrines nationwide.

Though 'Shirayama' and 'Hakusan' are pronounced differently, they use identical characters (白山) in Japanese. The mountain monk Taichō became the first person to reach Mt. Hakusan's summit in 717 and built a chapel there.