Hikawa Nyotai Shrine (氷川女體神社, Hikawa Nyotai Jinja) is one of the three Hikawa shrines of the ancient Musashi Province — alongside Omiya Hikawa Shrine and Naka Hikawa Shrine — which together form a sacred triangle aligned on the same axis. The shrine’s name “Nyotai” (女體) means “female body,” and the enshrined deity is Kushinada-hime no Mikoto — the consort of Susano-o.
Because Kushinada-hime is the divine wife in the Susano-o myth (who slew the eight-headed serpent to win her hand), Hikawa Nyotai is especially venerated as a shrine for women — for marriage, beauty, and the kind of love that asks one’s partner to face danger on one’s behalf.
The grounds are quiet, surrounded by water and trees, and offer a contemplative experience quite different from the larger Hikawa shrines of central Tokyo.