Discover 8 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Tenri (Japan). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Isonokami Shrine, Tenri University Sankōkan Museum, and Ōyamato Shrine. Also, be sure to include Nishiyama tumulus in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Tenri (Nara).
Table of Contents
Isonokami Shrine
Also known as: 石上神宮
Ancient shrine in a tranquil setting. Isonokami Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the hills of Furu in Tenri, Nara prefecture, Japan. It is one of the oldest extant Shinto shrines in Japan and has housed several significant artifacts.
Isonokami shrine was highly regarded in the ancient era, and frequented by many members of the Imperial Family. It played a pivotal role in Japan's early history, especially during the 3rd to 5th centuries.
The shrine is at the northern end of the Yamanobe no michi, the oldest road in Japan.[1]
Address: 384 Furu-cho, 632-0014 Tenri
Tenri University Sankōkan Museum
Also known as: 天理大学附属天理参考館
Museum in Tenri, Japan. Tenri University Sankōkan Museum first opened in Tenri, Nara Prefecture, Japan, in 1930. Initially the Overseas Reference Materials Room, it was renamed the Overseas Reference Materials Hall in 1938, taking its present name in 1950 when it came to be affiliated with Tenri University. The Museum reopened in a new building in 2001. The collection of over 280,000 objects includes ethnographic and archaeological material from Japan and the rest of the world, as well as transport-related artefacts. An offshoot, the Tenri Gallery, opened in the Tokyo Tenri Building in Chiyoda, Tokyo in 1962.[2]
Address: Tenri, 250 Morimedo
Ōyamato Shrine
Also known as: 大和神社
Shinto shrine in Tenri, Japan. Ōyamato Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Tenri, Nara in Japan.
The shrine became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period. In 965, Emperor Murakami ordered that Imperial messengers were sent to report important events to the guardian kami of Japan. These heihaku were initially presented to 16 shrines including the Ōyamato Shrine.
From 1871 through 1946, the Ōyamato Shrine was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha (官幣大社), meaning that it stood in the first rank of government supported shrines.
The shrine was a guardian shrine of Japanese battleship Yamato.[3]
Address: 306, Niizumicho, Tenri
Nishiyama tumulus
Nishiyama Kofun is a burial mound located in Mikeno-cho, Sagata-cho, and Sosonouchi-cho, Tenri City, Nara Prefecture, and was designated as a national historic site in 1927. It was designated as a national historic site in 1927.
Tenri Central Library
Also known as: 天理大学附属天理図書館
University library in Tenri, Japan. Tenri Central Library is the library of Tenri University. It has notably extensive collections in antiquarian material, including original manuscripts from 13th-century Japan, and artifacts of European exploration and early visits to Japan. Dating to 1926, the library predates the university itself. It has its origins in the private collection of the family of the foundress of Tenrikyo, Oyasama.
They sponsor the Tenri Antiquarian Materials Workshop, which gathers rare materials from the modernization period in East Asia in the 19th and 20th centuries, and organizes them for local and overseas research. They are noted for their collection of works by Sheng Xuanhuai. They also have a copy of the original Romance of the Three Kingdoms.[4]
Nishitonoduka tomb
Nishidonotsuka burial mound is located in Nakayama-cho, Tenri City, Nara Prefecture. The shape of the tomb is a front-recessed circular mound. It is one of the tombs that make up the Yamato Kofun Group.
Although the actual burial site is unknown, the mausoleum has been designated by the Imperial Household Agency as "Fusudenomisasagi," the mausoleum of Princess Tebiraka, the 26th Empress Tsugitai.
It is estimated to have been built in the latter half of the 3rd century (the first half of the early Kofun period), and is known for the theory that it is a great royal tomb following the Chopstick Tomb Tumulus of the early Kofun period.
Tenri Health Care University
Also known as: 天理医療大学
Private university in Tenri, Japan. Tenri Health Care University is a private university in Tenri, Nara, Japan.[5]
Tenri University
Also known as: 天理大学
Private university in Tenri, Japan. Tenri University is a Japanese private university in Tenri, Nara Prefecture, an independent part of the secular mission of the new religious movement Tenrikyo. It was established in February 1925 as the coeducational Tenri Foreign Language School, enrolling 104 students, and was reorganised as a university in April 1949.[6]