Mishima Taisha Treasure Museum

Mishima Taisha is the ichinomiya of Izu Province, enshrined in Mishima City, Shizuoka Prefecture. It has long drawn the reverence of warlords as the tutelary shrine of the Zusō (Izu and Sagami) region. Its treasure hall holds the National Treasure 'Ume Makie Tebako' (cosmetic box with plum-blossom maki-e; replica on display), said to have been dedicated by Hōjō Masako, as well as fine swords such as the Important Cultural Property tachi and wakizashi.

Among the museum's sword masterpieces, the Important Cultural Property 'Tachi signed Munetada' is well known. This tachi was made by the smith Munetada of the Fukuoka Ichimonji school in Bizen Province (present-day Okayama Prefecture), an early Kamakura period work. It has a blade length of 81.8 cm and retains the character of the late Heian period style. In Meiji 20 (1887), it was donated to the shrine by the former Imperial Household Ministry. The museum also holds the Important Cultural Property 'Wakizashi signed Sagami no kuni jū Akiyoshi' by the Nanbokuchō period smith Akiyoshi of Sagami Province.

Mishima Taisha has deep ties with warlords. Minamoto no Yoritomo is said to have continued to pray at the shrine from the time he was exiled to Izu, and on the eve of his uprising (1180), he is said to have held a prayer for victory there. Yoritomo also dedicated a sacred horse and a sword at the shrine in Kenkyū 6 (1195). As a shrine revered over the generations by powerful eastern warrior houses, including the Hōjō, Imagawa and Tokugawa clans, swords from each era have been dedicated here.

Mishima has a history of prospering as a post town on the Tōkaidō, and it is also a place of rich nature overlooking Mount Fuji and Mount Hakone. Combined with a visit to the treasure hall, visitors can enjoy strolling the precincts associated with Minamoto no Yoritomo and enjoy Mishima's spring water and scenery.