There is a burning fire shrine in Oki, Shimane Prefecture, which has been regarded as the patron saint of the sea. There is another story about this shrine:
Long ago, Emperor Gotoba was exiled to Oki due to the Seiku Rebellion (1221).
After going out to fish, Toba encountered a storm on his way to the emperor, and was in a dilemma. So, the emperor chanted and prayed, the storm stopped, and a divine fire appeared in the sea to guide him. The emperor returned to the land safely, and said happily, "The sea burns algae salt, what is it to burn? Only see algae smoke." Suddenly, a strange old man approached him and said:
"Since the Japanese song you chanted just now, since'burning algae' has already been mentioned before, I don't think there is any need to ask'burning he' again, just say'burning the fire'."
The emperor was shocked and asked who he was. The other party said: "I live here forever and will continue to guard the ships here in the future." Then he disappeared. It is said that the emperor built a small temple here with a medicine Buddha carved by Kukai.
Until now, every year on the 29th of December in the lunar calendar, sacred fires still appear in the sea and fly into the lanterns in the shrine.
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