Japan Heritage story
Ueda's Shioda-daira: the ley line of sun and earth
レイラインがつなぐ「太陽と大地の聖地」
Shioda-daira, a plain in Ueda, Nagano, has long been a holy land full of temples and shrines. A shrine to the earth, a temple to the sun and the hot spring town of Bessho Onsen sit on one straight line, and at the solstices the sun shines straight through the shrine's torii gates.
Key facts
- Theme
- Sea and waterside, Festivals and rituals
- Era
- Heian, Kamakura
- Region
- Chubu, Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- レイラインがつなぐ「太陽と大地の聖地」
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ～龍と生きるまち 信州上田・塩田平～
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 長野県（上田市）
The story
Ueda gets less rain than anywhere else on Honshu, and its sunny, mild climate drew Shinano's provincial temple and a branch of the Hojo clan. Learned monks came to Shioda-daira too, helped by the hot springs of Bessho Onsen, said to be the oldest in Shinshu. At Ikushima Tarushima Shrine, which worships the land itself, the sun rises through the middle of the east torii at the summer solstice and sets into the west torii at the winter solstice, on a line linking the shrine with Shinano Kokubunji and Bessho Onsen.
Little rain also meant drought, so people built reservoirs and prayed to the dragon gods of the mountains. For over 500 years, the Take no Nobori festival has carried colourful dragon banners down from Mount Otogami to Bessho Shrine, greeted by lion dancers and children. Desperate villagers would even throw roadside Jizo statues into the river, chanting a plea for rain. The century-old Bessho Line railway follows the same ley line and is said to look like a dragon from the air.
What to see
- Anrakuji: home to Japan's only wooden octagonal three-storey pagoda, which looks like it has four roofs.Google Maps 安楽寺 上田市 (opens in a new tab)
- Kitamuki Kannon: a hot spring temple in Bessho Onsen, where even the purification water is from the spring.Google Maps 北向観音 (opens in a new tab)
- Ikushima Tarushima Shrine: the shrine where the solstice sun lines up with the torii.Google Maps 生島足島神社 (opens in a new tab)
- Zenzanji: a temple with a graceful three-storey pagoda.Google Maps 前山寺 (opens in a new tab)
Plan your trip with the Nagano prefecture guide, see more temples and shrines or relax at an onsen.
Good to know
- Ride the Bessho Line to Bessho Onsen; its route follows the ley line.
- Kitamuki Kannon is traditionally visited together with Zenkoji in Nagano City for extra blessings.
- Visit Ikushima Tarushima Shrine at the summer or winter solstice to see the sun line up with the torii.
Questions travellers ask
What is the Shioda-daira ley line?
Bessho Onsen, Ikushima Tarushima Shrine and Shinano Kokubunji sit on one straight line that matches the path of the solstice sun.
What is special about Anrakuji's pagoda?
It is Japan's only wooden octagonal three-storey pagoda, yet it looks as if it has four storeys.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Chikuma, city of the moon: the moon in every rice terrace
- Hida no Takumi: 1,300 years of master woodworkers in Takayama
- Iga and Koka: in search of the real ninja
- Katsuragi Shugen: where mountain asceticism began
- Kawachinagano: a town where the Middle Ages live on
- Nyonin Koya: the temples where women prayed instead of Mount Koya
- Oyama Mairi: the Edo people's pilgrimage and day out
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Saiku: the palace of the princess who prayed for Japan
- Starry Jomon highlands: obsidian mines of central Japan
- The Kiso Road: life in the mountains on the Nakasendo
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.