Keta Taisha’s “Forbidden Forest” — The Sacred Ground Even Priests Couldn’t Enter for 400 Years

Keta Taisha, in Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture, sits at the base of the Noto Peninsula. Encircling its inner shrine is the “Irazu no Mori” (Forbidden Forest), one of Japan’s most rigorously guarded sacred precincts, where for more than 400 years no one but Shinto priests has been permitted to enter. Because it has been left almost entirely untouched by human hands, it remains a primeval forest that still carries the appearance of ancient times. We looked into why this forest has been protected so strictly, and what it looks like today.

Origin — The Forest Where a God from Izumo Came to Rest

According to the origin story of Keta Taisha, its enshrined deity, Okuninushi no Mikoto (also known as the deity enshrined at Izumo Taisha), is said to have led more than 300 gods by boat from Izumo (present-day Shimane Prefecture) to this land, subduing a monstrous bird that was tormenting the people and a great serpent, and opening a sea route to Noto. Keta Taisha enshrines Okuninushi no Mikoto, who came to rest in the land he had opened this way, and the entire sacred grove surrounding its inner shrine came to be treated as a holy precinct where the god himself resides. This is said to be the origin of the “Forbidden Forest.”

The Forest Even Priests Could Not Enter for 400 Years

For at least 400 years, the Forbidden Forest has been protected as a special sanctuary that even the priests serving Keta Taisha are not freely permitted to enter. The one exception is the ritual held on New Year’s Eve, the only day on which priests are allowed to step into the forest, and only in accordance with strict protocol. One of the rare exceptions to this practice recorded in history is Emperor Shōwa, who was specially granted entry to the forest during a visit to Noto in 1983. That is how deeply the forest has been cherished as a form of faith in itself — the very fact that no one enters it.

The Forbidden Forest Today — A Sanctuary Partially Opened to Visitors

Because no one has set foot there, the forest has been left as a primeval woodland spanning roughly 33,000 square meters, thick with giant evergreen broadleaf trees such as chinquapin and Japanese tabu-tree. Its ecosystem, untouched by any human logging or development, has been recognized for its ancient character and is now designated a National Natural Monument. Since December 2019, a limited form of public access called the “Irazu no Mori Pilgrimage” has begun, allowing visitors — with advance reservation, formal dress, and a prayer fee — to walk only the roughly 110-meter stretch from the forest’s entrance. Even so, no one is permitted to enter the true sacred precinct deep within the forest.

Reflection — What “Not Entering” Has Protected

In our view, the main reason the Forbidden Forest has remained protected for more than 400 years is not simply the strength of religious devotion, but the fact that the rule of “not entering” itself turned out to be the most reliable means of conservation. In the modern era, protecting a precious primeval forest would require strict laws and management systems, but this forest kept human hands away for centuries simply by drawing a religious line: it is sacred, so one must not enter.

We speculate that this is not mere coincidence, but an expression of the rationality inherent in ancient faith. Even without visible punishment or surveillance, a shared fear — that a curse will fall, that the sacred precinct will be defiled — is enough to keep people from setting foot there of their own accord. In that faith ended up preserving an ecosystem long before any scientific concept of conservation existed, the Forbidden Forest offers a deeply suggestive case for thinking about how the Japanese have related to nature.

Taking the religious perspective one step further, we suspect the role the Forbidden Forest has ended up playing is more than simple conservation — it has kept alive, on the human side, a sense that there are realms one must not touch. Many of Japan’s forbidden precincts have, over time, been swept up in tourism and development and gradually lost their sanctity. That this forest has nevertheless been guarded so strictly for more than 400 years, even against its own priests, may be because the sense that Okuninushi no Mikoto, the god from Izumo, is still actively present within the forest right now has been shared without interruption among the people of the region.

This is only our own imagining, but we find something almost symbolic in the fact that even the “Irazu no Mori Pilgrimage,” begun in 2019, allows only a 110-meter stretch from the entrance to be walked. It means that most of a forest spanning tens of thousands of square meters remains, even now in the Reiwa era, a space no one has ever set foot in — entirely cut off from any human record. Whether what spreads out there is truly just a primeval forest, or whether the god who led more than 300 deities, as the origin story tells it, still resides there exactly as before — with no way for anyone to find out, the very act of sealing off that question may be the true source of this forest’s unfathomable depth.

This, too, is only our own imagining, but many visitors who stop just 110 meters past the entrance say, almost unanimously, that they sense something like a gaze coming from the darkness beyond. It is said that sounds neither clearly animal nor human sometimes drift out from deep among the trees, but no one is permitted to go further and find out. Whether what lies beyond, sunk in darkness and absent from anyone’s record for more than 400 years, is truly nothing but a primeval forest — the simple fact that it cannot be confirmed may be exactly what keeps this forest unsettling to this day.

Another Side — Keta Taisha as a Power Spot

Keta Taisha is a shrine that has drawn reverence since ancient times as the ichinomiya (chief shrine) of Noto Province, and in recent years it has also become popular as a power spot for matchmaking. Its sacred grove, the Forbidden Forest, is still carefully protected as forbidden ground, but the shrine grounds themselves are open to worshippers, and the vermilion-lacquered halls together with the quiet air of the forest have a calming effect. The Hakui coastline, looking out over the Sea of Japan, is nearby as well, and a walk in the sea breeze after paying your respects is a fitting way to spend time in this area.

A Note for Visitors

Keta Taisha remains an active shrine visited by many worshippers today, and the Forbidden Forest continues to be protected as sacred, forbidden ground. Entering the forest without authorization is strictly prohibited, and visitors must never go beyond the section open to the public. Anyone taking part in the “Irazu no Mori Pilgrimage” must follow the guidance on advance reservations, attire, and other requirements.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the Forbidden Forest?

A. It is a primeval forest surrounding the inner shrine of Keta Taisha in Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture. For more than 400 years, it has been protected as forbidden ground that no one but the shrine’s own priests is permitted to enter.

Q. Why is entry forbidden?

A. It is said to be because of the shrine’s origin story, in which Okuninushi no Mikoto, the deity enshrined at Keta Taisha, led more than 300 gods from Izumo and came to rest in this land, leading the entire sacred precinct to be treated as holy ground.

Q. Are priests unable to enter under normal circumstances too?

A. Yes. Even priests are permitted to enter only during the ritual held on New Year’s Eve, and only by following strict protocol. In 1983, Emperor Shōwa was granted special permission to enter during a visit to Noto.

Q. Can visitors tour the inside of the forest?

A. Since 2019, visitors have been able to walk a roughly 110-meter stretch from the forest’s entrance, on the condition of advance reservation, formal dress, and a prayer fee. Free access deep into the forest is not permitted.

Q. What kind of natural environment remains in this forest?

A. It is a primeval forest covering roughly 33,000 square meters, covered with giant evergreen broadleaf trees such as chinquapin and Japanese tabu-tree. Its nature, left almost entirely untouched by human hands since ancient times, has been recognized with designation as a National Natural Monument.

We plan to introduce Keta Taisha’s Forbidden Forest in video form as well. Please also check out our YouTube channel.

Q. Has Karasu Channel filmed on location at Keta Taisha’s Forbidden Forest?

A. No, Karasu Channel has not filmed there yet; a visit is currently under consideration. Location footage for other haunted spots and kaidan stories can be viewed on Karasu Channel (YouTube).