Isonokami Jingu Shrine

Isonokami Jingu is distinguished by the sound of chickens crowing throughout the grounds, where dozens of birds roam freely as sacred messengers. Nestled in the hills of Tenri at the northern end of the Yamanobe-no-Michi, Japan's oldest road, this is one of the country's oldest and most historically significant shrines. It is referenced in the earliest Japanese chronicles, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, and for centuries served as the spiritual and military armory for the powerful Mononobe clan and the ancient Yamato court.