Kotohira-gu is dedicated to Omononushi, a kami associated with maritime safety, and to Emperor Sutoku, the 12th-century sovereign whose exile and death made him one of Japan's most feared onryo, or vengeful spirits. The shrine's role as guardian of sailors and fishermen made it one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in a country whose livelihood has always depended on the sea. Before the Meiji-era separation of Shinto and Buddhism, it was known as Konpira Daigongen, and its fame was such that in the Edo period, hundreds of thousands of visitors climbed these steps annually. A unique practice developed for those who could not make the journey themselves: a pilgrim could write their name on a piece of wood and release it into the Seto Inland Sea, trusting the currents to carry their prayer to Konpira.

The staircase is the shrine's most defining feature and its most democratic ritual. Everyone who comes here must climb. When economic conditions during the Muromachi period first allowed commoners to travel, pilgrimage to distant shrines became possible, and Kotohira was among the most coveted destinations. By the Edo period, the annual pilgrimage had become a cultural phenomenon. Even today, the shrine draws nearly two million visitors per year. The approach is lined with the commerce of devotion: five designated families, known as the Gonin Byakusho, hold the exclusive right to make and sell kamiyoame -- yellow, fan-shaped candies that pilgrims buy to break into pieces with small hammers and share with those who stayed behind, distributing the shrine's blessings by proxy.

Kotohira-gu's history reflects the complex entanglement of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan. The nearby temple Matsuo-ji, affiliated with the Koyasan Shingon sect, once administered the shrine. It was founded by the ascetic En no Gyoja after he experienced a vision of Konpira Gongen at the site. In 1889, during the Meiji government's forced separation of the two religions, the Konpira temple was transformed into a purely Shinto shrine and renamed Kotohira-gu. The shrine holds several Important Cultural Properties, including a Heian-period statue of the eleven-faced Kannon Bosatsu and four ink paintings by the renowned artist Maruyama Okyo. In 2020, the shrine made headlines by withdrawing from the Association of Shinto Shrines after a dispute over ceremonial offerings during the imperial enthronement, becoming one of Japan's few major standalone shrines.

From the main shrine at step 785, the ema hall displays votive tablets left by sailors and fishermen praying for safe voyages -- a tradition documented through centuries of offerings. The shrine's ema hall holds prayers for every kind of maritime endeavor, from deep-sea fishing to cargo shipping. From 1871 through 1946, Kotohira was designated a kokuhei-chusha, placing it in the mid-range of nationally ranked shrines. But rankings never fully captured its hold on the popular imagination. Mount Zozu, on whose slopes the shrine sits, is considered holy ground, and the combination of mountain worship, maritime guardianship, and sheer physical effort required to reach the inner shrine gives Kotohira-gu a spiritual weight that transcends its official classification. The view from the top -- the forested mountainside dropping away to rice paddies, then to the glint of the Inland Sea -- feels earned.