Wakasa Jinguji Temple was founded in 714 to integrate the Shinto deity Wakasahikogami (also known as Hikohohodemi no Mikoto) into Buddhism, early in the thousand-year period when a fusion of the two religions was practiced in Japan. Its original name was Wakasahiko Shinganji Temple. From the Kamakura period (1185–1333), it became affiliated with the Tendai school of Buddhism and was known as Wakasa Ichinomiya Konpon Jinguji Temple.
Wakasa Jinguji Temple is known for the Omizu Okuri (“water-sending”), a ritual held to symbolically send sacred water from the Akai Well on the precincts to Todaiji Temple in Nara. The deep connection to Nara was further highlighted when excavations of the Wakasa Jinguji grounds revealed ancient roof tiles that matched those used for the Heijo Palace, an imperial residence in Nara in the eighth century.
The main hall of the temple is a designated Important Cultural Property that was rebuilt by the Asakura family who ruled neighboring Echizen Province during the Warring States period (1467–1615). The North Gate (Kitamon) of the temple is also a designated Important Cultural Property. Visitors may imagine how the temple looked in ancient times while strolling from the gate to the main hall.
Wakasa Jinguji still enshrines both the Shinto and the Buddhist versions of the deity Wakasahikogami, a reflection of its long history of syncretic worship. Beside the main hall is a smaller hall that enshrines wooden statues of a male deity and a female deity, which are said to represent Wakasahikogami (Hikohohodemi no Mikoto) and his wife Wakasahimegami (Toyotamahime). This is particularly noteworthy because, unlike in Buddhism, Shinto deities are rarely depicted in statue form.
