Kasuga Jinja (春日神社)

Shrine building of Kasuga Jinja

Kasuga Jinja (春日神社), in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, is a Shinto shrine that used to stand near Hiratuska-juku which was one of the 53 post stations along the Tokaido Route that connected Edo, modern-day Tokyo, and Kyoto.

It is unclear when the shrine was first built.  It is said that, in 1192, Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, appointed this shrine to conduct hashi-kuyo (橋供養), a ceremony held between the completion and opening of a bridge, for bridges over Banyu River (馬入川), the portion of Sagami River near the river mouth.  It enshrines the gods of Amenokoyane-no-Mikoto, Takemikazuchi, and Futsunushinokami and the goddess of Himenokami.

Kasuga Ryugusha

There are several subordinate shrines, including Kasuga Ryugusha (春日龍宮社) which is standing in a small pond.

This shrine also has a pair of komainu (狛犬) statues.  Komainu is an imaginary lion-like creature and its statues are commonly found standing at the entrance, in a pair, to guard the shrine.  With the komainu statues at Kasuga Jinja, you'll notice one is holding a baby komainu while the other one has the baby feeding on its mother's milk.