Arahabaki is a deity worshipped since ancient Japanese history. While revered as a god of strong legs, its true identity remains shrouded in mystery.

Even in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, Japan's oldest historical texts containing Japanese mythology, the name "Arahabaki" doesn't appear!

However, even today (especially in the Kanto and Tohoku regions), it's sometimes worshipped as a "guest deity" rather than the main one at shrines.

As someone aiming for "lifelong strong legs," I'm always thrilled to find Arahabaki at shrines I visit.

This time, I'll introduce three Arahabaki shrines I found in Saitama Prefecture. 　(Nihedon @ KesaranPasaran Lab)

About the shrines in the temple grounds that enshrine "guest deity"

The top photo is of the "Monkyakujin Shrine" at "Musashi Ichinomiya Hikawa Shrine."

The deities enshrined here, "Ashinazuchi-no-Mikoto" and "Tenazuchi-no-Mikoto," are the couple who asked Susanoo to save their daughter, "Kushiinadahime," from Yamata no Orochi (the eight-headed serpent).

I recently learned that this shrine was actually called Arahabaki Shrine until the Edo period. (From "Jomon Shrines" by Ikuko Muto, Asuka Shinsha)

I don't know why it became a shrine dedicated to Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi as it is today, but naturally, I prayed for strong legs at this shrine.