Sugitani Shrine is located in present-day Oyado, Nabari City. It is also called “Sugitani Tenjin” because it is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane. Oyado has been an open land since ancient times, and in the middle of the 10th century, there were many fields of lords, including national fields, and in the middle of the 11th century, it was part of Kuroda no Sho, a domain of Todaiji Temple. It was the base of the Ōe clan, which had been the manor administrator of Kuroda no Sho for generations, and Harimoto, known as the “Kuroda no Akuto”, and their relatives were members of the Ōe clan.
The temple is believed to have been founded in the late Heian period (794-1185), as the Daihannya Kyo (Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra), estimated to be from the Heian period (794-1185), was handed down to the temple. In the early Kamakura period, it was a leading shrine, occupying 60% of the six sections of Kanda 1-cho 6-dan. The size of Sugitani Shrine is not unrelated to the ancient history of the area.
The “伊水温故 Isui-ungo” a geographical journal of Iga in the Edo period, refers to the shrine as “a shrine has 30 townships of Nabari”, which shows the power of the shrine in the region. It is a large shrine, as it is described as having a shrine territory of 300 koku before the Tenshō Iga War. The treasures listed include “天神ノ絵像一幅 弘法大師ノ筆 (Art of Kobo-daishi)” ”縁起三巻 鳥羽院ノ宸翰 (autograph of the Emperor Toba)”and so on. Daifukuji Temple was a separate temple of Sugitani Shrine.
In “伊賀の中世城館”, it is said that there is a castle-like structure in Oyado, but it is described as an “unknown castle building”, and it is presumed that it was originally a temple.
This Sugitani Shrine, which is associated with the “Kuroda no Akuto” is also unknown as to its association with the ninja Sugitani Zenjubo.
