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Inuyama-City Momotaro Jinja Shrine
Inuyama's legend of Momotaro told at a Shinto shrine
The place is the shore of the Kiso River, running through Inuyama City, and among the Eight Great Views of Japan. Northeast along the river from Inuyama's guardian Inuyama Castle lie a number of shrines and temples thought to have watched over Inuyama since time immemorial—and one of these is Momotaro Jinja Shrine.
But first, an explanation of Momotaro: Inuyama City is home to the Momotaro legend where the boy Momotaro (meaning something along the lines of "Peach Boy") came floating inside of a peach to an old woman as she washed her clothes at the riverside. The old woman and her husband raised Momotaro into a strong young man and would go on to battle and defeat a demon wreaking havoc on the community, as has been told to children for eons.
The shrine worships Momotaro and is located 3.3 kilometers upstream from Inuyama Castle along the Kiso River. Locals pray here for the health of their children. Momotaro Jinja Shrine boasts a peach-shaped torii gate, rare across Japan, and houses what is said to be the stone the old woman who came across Momotaro washed her clothes on.