Minase Jingu Shrine was established in 1240 on the former site of an imperial villa in Minase to commemorate the death of the retired emperor Gotoba. A never-ending stream of people flock to the shrine, to obtain water from the Rikyu-no-mizu spring on its grounds. Rikyu-no-mizu is certified as one of Japan's best 100 natural water sources by the Ministry of the Environment. They say Sen-no-Rikyu, a great tea ceremony master, also loved to use the water from this spring. It consists of subsoil water of the Minase River, a tributary of the Yodo River, which originates on Mt. Tennozan. The shrine has a tea room, Toshin-tei (designated a national important cultural property). Every year, tea ceremonies are performed here by the heads of the three Senke schools of tea ceremony using water from the spring to be dedicated to the shrine. The shrine also houses a number of national treasures, paintings, and ancient documents related to the retired Emperor Gotoba. They say the hand print on the shrine gate was left by the legendary thief Goemon Ishikawa. When he broke into the shrine in an attempt to steal a famous sword enshrined within, His heart was purified. To show his sincerity, he left it on the shrine gate.
Water can be drawn from Rikyu-no-mizu spring from 6:00 - 17:00, up to 20 liters per person.