Watatsu-jinja (度津神社) is a Japanese Shinto shrine at Sado, Niigata, which is an island in the Sea of Japan.[1]
The shrine was established before the 10th century.[2] This place is special to the kami named Isonotakeru no mikoto (五十猛命).[3] Isonotakeru is said to have taught people shipbuilding and how to use ships.[4]
Each year in late-April, horseback archery (yabusame) takes place at the branch Hachimangū of Watatsu Shrine in the town of Hamochi.[5]
Watatsu was the chief Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) of the old Sado Province on Sado Island. It serves today as one of the ichinomiya of Niigata Prefecture. [6]
In the modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines, Watatsu was listed among the 3rd class of nationally significant shrines or Kokuhei Shōsha (国幣小社).