Aoshiba Shrine, a power spot for Nagaoka citizens

The shrine was not destroyed by fire during the Boshin War (1868) by an imperial edict of Emperor Kogaku, the shrine was not destroyed by fire during the Nagaoka Air Raid (1945) even though the surrounding facilities were destroyed by incendiary bombs, and the shrine was not destroyed during the Chuetsu Earthquake (2004) even though almost all torii gates and lanterns collapsed. In 2006, the shrine was designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan.

Aoshiba Shrine, protected by such mysterious power, is known among fans as the site of a popular manga that was serialized in a popular boys' magazine from 1994 to 1999, depicting a dark swordsman at the end of the Edo period who, after the Meiji Restoration, travels around Japan as a wanderer in search of a new way of life. The author is a native of Nagaoka City. The author was born in Nagaoka City, and many of the characters in his works are named after places in Niigata Prefecture! Some of the characters are derived from the area around the shrine, which is called "Aoshiba-no-mori" (forest of Aoshiba). Also within the shrine grounds is a shrine dedicated to Tsugunosuke Kawai, a retainer of the Nagaoka domain, and a movie based on Tsugunosuke Kawai is scheduled to be released in 2022! A movie based on Kawai Tsugunosuke is scheduled to be released in 2022!

Shiro was a large, brave white dog (thought to be an Akita) that was given to the third feudal lord, Makino Tadatatsu. One day, however, a large dog of the Owari-doro clan passed by the Makino family's residence in Edo and attacked Shiro. Shiro, who had been patiently enduring until then, bravely fought back and chased the dog away. However, this was during the reign of Tsunayoshi V, just before and after the decree on mercy for all living creatures was enacted. Even though it was a dogfight, the dog was a relative of the Shogun's family, the Owari-doro. The lord scolded Shiro, saying, "I cannot leave him in the Edo mansion if he does such a thing." Shiro" thought that his favorite lord had ordered him to return to his home country, so he staggered to Nagaoka on the same road he had taken on his pilgrimage. When "Shiro" arrived in Nagaoka, about 76 ri (300 km) away from Edo, he went to the house of his former owner, Zenbei of Nakazawa Village, but he was told to return to the castle, saying, "I gave it to the lord, so I can't enter the house without his permission. However, "Shiro" did not return to the castle, but stayed on a hill a short distance away, weeping sadly for several days. Soon after, inquiries arrived from Edo asking if Shiro had returned to the castle and Zenbei. Zenbei, who had heard how "Shiro" had returned to Edo, looked in the direction where he had heard the cry a few days before, and found that "Shiro" had already died on top of a small hill.

It is said that Zenbe took pity on Shiro, who had come all the way back from Edo, and built a mound on the hill where he died and buried him with great care. It is said that "Shiroinu no mound" on the way to Mt. About 100 years later, in the first year of the Temmei era, Tadatatsu was enshrined at the Aoshiba Shrine, which was moved to a stone's throw from this mound. In 2018, the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Nagaoka domain, "Shiro Shrine" was built in honor of "Shiro," a loyal dog that served the 3rd feudal lord, Tadatatsu Makino, in order to pass on the history of Nagaoka to future generations. Shiro" is probably running around Mt.