Ōtori taisha

Ōtori taisha 大鳥神社
Inside Ōtori taisha
Information
Dedicated to	Prince Yamato Takeru
Address	Osaka-fu, Sakai-shi, Nishi-ku, Otorikita-Machi 1-1-2
Website	www.city.sakai.lg.jp/foreigner_en/spot/spot2.html
Glossary of Shinto

Ōtori taisha (大鳥神社), also known as Ōtori Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Nishi-ku ward in the city of Sakai, Osaka, Japan.

History

The legend of the origin of the shrine states that the hero Yamatotakeru-no-Mikoto, who turned into a white swan upon his death, last stopped at the future site of the Otori Taisha. It is said that the people nearby built the shrine in order to worship white swans.^[1]

The prince Yamato Takeru (originally prince Ousu), son of Emperor Keiko of the Yamato Dynasty, is enshrined here. The prince was praised for his bravery in battle and was given the name Yamato Takeru, or The Brave of Yamato, by his enemy as he died.^[2]

Ōtori Taisha is believed to be in the service of the gods of literature and martial arts, and it was said that warriors often visited in ancient times.

Ōtori was designated as the chief Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) for the former Izumi province.^[3] From 1871 through 1946, Ōtori was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha (官幣大社), meaning that it stood in the first rank among government supported shrines.

Grounds

The shrine's grounds, which extend over 50,000 square meters, contain a quiet forest known as Chigusa-no-mori because of the seemingly endless variety of tree species which can be found there. The shrine is also known for its iris garden, which features over 100,000 flowers. There is a monument in the shrine on which a tanka poem was inscribed by Tomioka Tessai.

Notable Architecture

The main building, Ōtori zukuri, is built in one of the oldest architectural styles used for Japanese shrines.^[4] This building burned down in 1905, but was rebuilt in 1909.

Visiting

There are no set hours and admission is free. To reach Ōtori taisha, take the JR Hanwa Line and get off at Otori Station.

Gallery

Entrance to Ōtori taisha.
Inside Ōtori taisha.
Inside Ōtori taisha.

Notes

External links

Sakai City Site

Shinto shrines

Shinto architecture

Buildings	chōzuya or temizuya haiden heiden hokora honden / shinden / shōden kagura-den massha sessha

Architectonic elements	Chinjusha chigi hidden roof kaerumata: see nakazonae kairō karahafu karamon katōmado katsuogi ken kentozuka: see nakazonae kitsune (fox) komainu mon nakazonae sandō shōrō sōrin tamagaki tokyō torii tōrō

Styles	hirairi-zukuri tsumairi-zukuri gongen-zukuri hachiman-zukuri hiyoshi-zukuri irimoya-zukuri ishi-no-ma-zukuri kasuga-zukuri kibitsu-zukuri misedana-zukuri nagare-zukuri ōtori-zukuri owari-zukuri ryōnagare-zukuri shinmei-zukuri sumiyoshi-zukuri taisha-zukuri

Others

Implements	An ema gohei hakama jōe kamidana mikoshi ofuda omamori ōnusa saisen shaku shide shimenawa shintai tamagushi tamaya

Main kami	Amaterasu Hachiman Inari Ōkami Tenjin

Staff	kannushi miko

Head shrines¹	Fushimi Inari Taisha Usa Hachiman-gū Ise Grand Shrine Dazaifu Tenman-gū Munakata Taisha Suwa Taisha Hiyoshi Taisha Kumano Nachi Taisha Tsushima Shrine Yasaka Shrine

Miscellaneous	A-un Glossary of Shinto jingū-ji Jinja Honchō miyadera

¹ (in order of the size of the shrine network they head)

Coordinates: 34°32′13″N 135°27′39″E / 34.53694°N 135.46083°E / 34.53694; 135.46083

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