History

Harunaga Maeda, the 11th lord of the Kaga Domain, built the domain school Meirindo in 1794 in the present plum grove in Kenrokuen Garden, and built a shrine by Kinjo Reitaku as its Shinto shrine, dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, the deity of learning and the ancestor of the Maeda family.

The construction was undertaken by the chief vassals of the time, Okumura Kawachimori, Maeda Otaki, Honda Genhansuke and Oon Shoma, with Sato Kanpei, the chief building official, Inoue Kan'emon and Matsuda Yosuke, the chief cooks, and others.
Later, when Kenrokuen Garden was developed, the school was moved to another location, but the shrine was built when Maeda Narihiro, the 12th lord of the domain, built the Takezawa Goten as a shrine to ward off disaster, promote business and traffic safety, and to pray for peace and prosperity in the domain when the domain lord walked around Kenrokuen Garden in the morning and evening.

One of the bodies of the White Snake Dragon deity, a deity of disaster prevention, was dedicated to the shrine and one to the wife of the Edo residence for generations, but was moved to the shrine in 1946. Every year on 1 October, only 100 sacred cards depicting the image of the White Snake Dragon Deity were made and given by the feudal lord to feudal warriors and influential townspeople in the castle, many of which are still in existence in old houses in the city.

After the Meiji Restoration, the Hakuashi Inari Daimyojin, the deity of business prosperity, was moved to the Maeda family's residence when they moved to Tokyo, but was moved back to the shrine at the request of the former clan members.
Before the Meiji Restoration, only the spring and autumn festivals were held at the shrine, and only the ladies and children of the castle were allowed to visit the shrine and received sweets from the lord of the domain.

It was not until 7 May 1874, when Kenrokuen Garden was opened to the public, that the general public could freely visit the shrine.

Today, many people visit the shrine throughout the year to pray for academic success, business prosperity and protection against misfortune.

Sugawara Michizane (deity of learning, ancestor of the Maeda family)
White Snake Dragon Deity (deity of luck in money and protection from disaster)
White Hakuashi Inari Great Deity (deity of prosperity in business)
Kotohira Great Deity (traffic safety)
Maeda Narinaga (12th feudal lord)
Maeda Nariyasu (13th feudal lord)