Hotoku Ninomiya Jinja, Odawara

360° VR panorama of Hōtoku Ninomiya Jinja in Odawara, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. The shrine is dedicated to Ninomiya Sontoku, a famous Japanese agricultural leader, philosopher, moralist and economist. He grew up in a poor farming family, and both his parents had died by the time he was 16. In between working the land to feed his brothers, he studied hard and managed to increase the productivity of the land.

He was then recruited to the local government, which was having financial difficulties. He reformed their finances, and was then invited to do the same for several other districts suffering similar problems.

A statue of Ninomiya Sontoku is present at the shrine, and statues are also placed in many Japanese schools. The statue depicts him carrying firewood on his back while reading a book, showing that he was always studying.

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