I have had Suguro Shrine on a round up post of the shrines and temples in the Sumiyoshi area for the last few years. But before the pandemic it had a post of its own, for the Chinowa Kuguri annually. I republished it in 2024 and will update this post annually with the Chinowa Kuguri information. I have updated it for 2026.
Suguro Shrine in Sakado
I first happened upon Suguro Shrine while visiting early blooming ‘kawazu’ cherry blossoms nearby. I was quite delighted and surprised to see the shrine on the top of a hill. It turns out it is a burial mound and you can see the burial chamber stones exposed beside the shrine. I was told at the time of my first visit, that one of the four great shoguns of ancient times is interred in the mound. I made the mistake of taking that as gospel, but after further research have not been able to confirm that information. So I won’t delve into the history in this post, but I want to share information for an upcoming ‘only in Japan’ event:
Chinowa Kuguri
Chinowa Kuguri is a type of shinto ritual and a rite of “Nagoshi no Harae”, often translated as “summer passing” in English. It is believed that by passing through the ring of chigaya, grasses entwined around a circle of bamboo, that it will increase ones chances of getting through the hot sultry summer in good health. The chigaya will be up at Suguro Shrine from Friday June 26th to Sunday June 28th 2026. During that time there are volunteers and a priest at the shrine. They will show you how to perform chinowa kuguri correctly. They sell mini chinowa kuguri as charms for the three days of the event only. I got one for just 100 yen (2024 price)!
Information
Event: Suguro Shrine Chinowa Kuguri 茅の輪くぐり
Dates: from Friday June 26th to Sunday June 28th 2026.
Time: the shrine office is unmanned most of the time, so there are no official hours, but there are volunteers there for chinowa kuguri only, during the day.
Cost: a donation in the prayer box at the shrine.
Venue: Suguro Shrine, 勝呂神社, 226 Ishii, Sakado, Saitama 350-0212. View on Google Maps.
Access
There is a very infrequent bus to the shrine from Tobu Tojo Line’s Wakaba station. Take the bus bound for Hachiman Danchi and alight at Suguro Elementary school bus stop. The shrine is about a seven minute walk from the bus stop. There is parking for about six cars at the shrine.
they need to realise you CAN put a temple in a position NOT up a hill! 😛