Overview of Key Features
- Client: Miyukimori Tenjingu Shrine (Ikuno Ward, Osaka City)
- Scope of Work: Resolving display errors following server migration / Website redesign
- Scope of Work: Emergency recovery, client consultation, SEO planning, coding, and design
- Key Production Points: Fundamental overhaul of outdated code and SEO optimization starting from the internal structure
Miyukimori Tenjingu, located in Ikuno Ward, Osaka City, is a Shinto shrine with a history spanning approximately 1,600 years. Its grounds include a forest said to be where Emperor Nintoku once rested, making it a place that retains a unique sense of tranquility despite its location in an urban area.
We received a request from Miyukimori Tenjingu stating, “Our website isn’t working properly.” Originally created to help local residents feel a closer connection to the shrine, the site was already 15 years old. They reported that immediately after migrating to a new server, error messages in English began appearing.
It’s actually quite rare for a shrine to have a website at all
Before getting into the main topic, let’s take a moment to clarify the current situation surrounding shrines. Nationwide, only 2,047 shrines have websites.This figure represents less than 3% of the total number of shrines nationwide (Data no Jikan: “DX Is an ‘Absolute Prerequisite’ for Solving the Serious Challenges Faced by Regional Shrines”). A survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications shows that over 90% of general businesses have websites, illustrating just how easily shrines—as a sector—can be left behind in the digital transformation.
Behind this trend lies a shift in the number of shrines and temples themselves. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s “Survey on Religious Statistics,” the number of shrines and temples registered as religious corporations decreased from 182,868 in 2006 to 179,952 in 2021 (bizly, “Digital Transformation of Temples and Shrines”).Some observers point out that population decline and a shortage of successors are making it increasingly difficult to maintain and operate these institutions.
When viewed in this light, the fact that Miyukimori Tenjingu Shrine had a website as early as 15 years ago and has continued its efforts to help local residents feel a closer connection to the shrine is by no means a given. This consultation was also an opportunity to ensure that these accumulated efforts are carried forward into the next generation.
Risks Associated with the 15-Year-Old Website
Let’s look at another set of objective figures. WordPress is the largest system, accounting for approximately 41% of the global CMS market, but it is also said to remain a primary target for attacks precisely because of its massive scale (NILTO Knowledge, “WordPress Vulnerability Countermeasures: 2026 Edition”).There is also a survey indicating that 28% of WordPress sites still use versions of PHP older than 5.6, for which support ended in 2018 (Kinsta, “Understanding WordPress Security Through Data”).
In Japan, 82% of small and medium-sized business websites are built on WordPress, and we’ve reached a point where new vulnerabilities are reported at a rate of 170 per week (Qiita, “82% of Small and Medium-Sized Business Websites in Japan Use WordPress”).It is also said that approximately 56% of attacks exploit vulnerabilities in plugins rather than in the core software (AeyeScan, “WordPress Security Enhancement”; Source: Wordfence).
The Miyukimori Tenjingu Shrine website found itself in precisely this situation. Fifteen years had passed since its creation. The site was built to help local residents feel a closer connection to the shrine, but the client contacted us because English error messages began appearing immediately after migrating to a new server.
Emergency Response: Why 15-Year-Old Code “Ran Out of Steam”
The first step was to apply a temporary fix for the display errors.
Upon inspecting the source code, we found a program built using 15-year-old technology.At the time of its creation, the iPhone was just beginning to gain popularity, and the design functioned adequately for its era. However, web technology changes dramatically every few years. Compared to the shrine’s 1,600-year history, the 15 years of web technology have seen changes on a comparable scale.
The root cause of this issue was that the old program couldn’t keep up with the new server environment and was generating errors. We’re starting by fixing this part to restore the display to its normal state.
The Underlying Issue That Has Come to Light: The Problem of Not Appearing in Search Results
While implementing these temporary fixes, the chief priest brought up another issue: “Lately, the site hasn’t been showing up in search results very often.”
This issue ran much deeper than a mere display problem. It is said that 80–90% of traffic to corporate and organizational websites comes via search engines (DS Magazine, “The Disadvantages of Outdated Corporate Websites”). In other words, failing to appear in search results is virtually equivalent to losing the gateway that connects to the vast majority of visitors.
Current search engine ranking criteria are becoming stricter every year. No matter how rich a shrine’s history or how deep its ties to the local community may be, if the internal structure (code) of its pages remains outdated, its value will not be properly recognized. In other words, simply tweaking the surface-level design won’t be reflected in search results.
To address this issue, we first carefully gathered information—such as the shrine’s history, the chief priest’s vision, and daily operations—that is not readily visible from the outside. Based on this, we decided to rebuild the site from the ground up, rather than simply modifying the existing one.
Rather than merely making the site look nice, we are systematically refining the underlying structure piece by piece so that search engines can accurately interpret the content. While we could have settled for a quick fix, we determined that a fundamental overhaul was necessary to ensure that this shrine—which has stood for 1,600 years—would remain discoverable through search engines for the next 10 or 20 years, and we proposed this approach accordingly.
From a tourism perspective, the shrine’s “discoverability” cannot be ignored
In this redesign, we focused not only on engaging with the local community but also on a broader perspective. The number of international visitors to Japan in 2025 reached a record high of 42.68 million (Japan Tourism Agency, “Number of International Visitors to Japan and Japanese Travelers Abroad”).According to the Japan Tourism Agency’s Survey on Inbound Tourist Consumption Trends (2024), the percentage of foreign visitors to Japan who cite “experiencing Japan’s history and traditional culture” as a travel purpose has been increasing year by year, and visiting shrines and temples has become one of the top priority activities for many travelers (Digima Japan, “Guide to Attracting Inbound Visitors to Shrines and Temples”).
Despite its location in downtown Osaka, Miyukimori Tenjingu is a place with a unique tranquility, set apart from the hustle and bustle of the city. I felt that while it is a familiar shrine for local residents, it is also a place that people interested in “experiencing history and traditional culture” should naturally be able to discover.If the shrine doesn’t appear in search results, the opportunity for that encounter itself is lost. This renovation was also an effort to restore the shrine’s openness to these new interests while maintaining its connection to the local community.
Renovation Policy: Information Design That Utilizes “Negative Space”
In undertaking this renewal, our focus was not on incorporating trendy design elements, but rather on ensuring that the “white space” and “ma” inherent to a shrine could be felt online as well.
The uncluttered tranquility one feels when walking through the shrine grounds—how could we convey this sensation through a screen? Through repeated discussions with the chief priest, we proceeded with selecting information and designing the layout.
The process of reviewing the code line by line is much like cleaning the shrine grounds. By removing what is unnecessary, the refreshing atmosphere that was originally present in that space naturally emerges. It can be said that this redesign was not about adding flashy elements, but rather a process of streamlining to ensure the site’s inherent charm remained unobstructed.
Renovating an Aging Site Requires a Two-Pronged Approach: “Display” and “Search”
To summarize our efforts this time, they consisted of three main components: emergency response to errors caused by the server migration; identifying and fundamentally restructuring the outdated code structure that was hindering SEO; and information architecture designed based on user interviews to preserve the site’s unique character.
- Emergency Response to Errors Caused by the Server Migration
- Identifying and fundamentally restructuring the outdated code structure that was hindering SEO
- Information architecture designed to preserve the site’s unique character, based on stakeholder feedback
A website created 15 years ago served its purpose adequately at the time. However, since server environments and search engine ranking criteria continue to change year by year, it’s not uncommon for a site to be receiving lower rankings internally—even if there are no visible issues. The assumption that “it’s working, so it’s fine” can sometimes mask risks that are quietly accumulating behind the scenes.With over 97% of shrines nationwide still lacking even a basic website, I believe that for those shrines and temples that already have a site, simply maintaining it in a fully functional state is itself a vital part of passing on their legacy to the next generation.
Similarly, if you are a shrine, temple, or local business owner struggling with errors on an outdated website or finding that your site has recently stopped appearing in search results, please feel free to contact us. We can assist not only with fixing display issues but also with a fundamental overhaul that includes search engine optimization.
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